Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

An Examination Of Donald Trump And Young Evangelical Voters, Kevin Finn

Honors Theses and Capstones

The relationship between Donald Trump and religious voters is often discussed, but much less attention has been directed to the connection between Trump and young voters, particularly young evangelicals. This paper attempts to provide the reasoning behind why despite his unconventional character, Trump maintains a strong base of support from young evangelical voters. After examining the theories of previous scholars, it hypothesizes that support is shaped by religious elites, who exploit the strong connection that young evangelicals have to their community. The argument is separated into three phases: first, that evangelical leaders and elites have proven to be consistently in …

Impact Of A Breast Cancer Diagnosis On Finances And Marital Status In Young Women, Tamara Hamlish, Michelle L. Foster, Sarah Strom, Rana Jaber, M. Courtney Hughes

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Purpose

A breast cancer diagnosis can impact every aspect of a woman’s life, particularly for women diagnosed before age 45 when they are in the process of establishing stability in their personal and professional lives. This study investigated the impact of a breast cancer diagnosis on employment, finances, and personal relationships among young breast cancer survivors.

Methods

We conducted descriptive statistical analysis of survey data from 315 women diagnosed with breast cancer before age 45. Surveys were administered electronically and included 40 questions on demographics asking about employment, insurance, income, and marital status at two time points: at diagnosis and …

Should Decisions Of Independent Accountability Mechanisms Be Binding?, Lalanath De Silva, Giada Giacomini

Perspectives

In this essay, it is argued that IAMs should be empowered with binding decision-making authority to enhance their effectiveness and ensure that justice is served, and remedies delivered. This argument is supported by analyzing the right of access to justice. Further, this essay analyses existing mechanisms with binding decision-making power that have already been created or acknowledged by IFIs; these mechanisms include IFI administrative tribunals for employees, arbitration processes for commercial disputes, integrity related sanctions regimes, and the appeal bodies that hear access to information decisions. The IFIs’ embrace of binding decisions in these contexts demonstrates that nothing prevents IFIs …

Estimating The Effect Of Positivity About Immigrants On Vote Choice In The 2020 Us Presidential Election, L.J. Zigerell

Faculty Publications – Politics and Government

Much of the research that estimates how attitudes about immigrants affect outcomes uses a measure that ranges from a lack of negativity about immigrants to a high level of negativity about immigrants. But this overlooks the effect of positivity about immigrants. The present study illustrates a method that uses a neutral point of indifference about immigrants to separate the effect of positivity about immigrants from the effect of negativity about immigrants. Analysis of data from the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group VOTER Survey suggested that positivity about immigrants was an important predictor of vote choice in the 2020 US presidential …

Ordering Effects In Stereotype Scales, L.J. Zigerell

Faculty Publications – Politics and Government

Stereotypes about groups are commonly measured by asking participants to rate the groups on a scale. However, the percentage of participants who stereotype a group can be affected by the order in which participants are asked to rate the groups. Data from a randomized experiment in the American National Election Studies 2022 Pilot Study indicated that a group was more frequently positively stereotyped relative to another group when the group was asked about first in the pair of groups, compared to when the other group in the pair was asked about first. Researchers are therefore advised to randomize the order …

Preventing Suicide In Jails: Examining Community, Facility, And Individual Differences, Mijin Kim, Victor J. St. John, Jason Szkola

Faculty Publications - Criminal Justice Sciences

Suicide remains the leading cause of death in U.S. correctional facilities, underscoring the importance of identifying factors contributing to elevated risk. Drawing on national data on jail fatalities from 2011 to 2019, this study examines suicide risk across macro-level (community infrastructure), meso-level (facility characteristics), and micro-level (individual vulnerabilities) domains. Multivariate regression analyses indicate that, at the micro-level, being young, White, male, unconvicted, or serving a short length of stay increases suicide likelihood. Rural isolation is associated with higher suicide rates, whereas overcrowding is linked to lower rates. Interaction models further demonstrate that rural jails without overcrowding experience the highest suicide …

Connecting Classrooms To Communities: A Practical And Effective Guide For Involving Community Development Practitioners In Graduate Seminars, Michael Hendricks

Faculty Publications – Politics and Government

This article examines the pedagogical impact of a strategically structured guest speaker series in a graduate-level community development seminar. Drawing on four cohorts of qualitative student feedback and utilizing an inductive thematic analysis, the study explores how guest speakers influence student learning, professional development, and civic engagement. Findings reveal that guest speakers effectively bridge theory and practice, enhance classroom engagement, and foster critical thinking, career exploration, and long-term civic involvement. Students reported that interacting with diverse professionals helped clarify real-world applications of course content and inspired volunteerism, internships, and employment opportunities. The paper also identifies conditions that enhance the effectiveness …

“…They’Re Still Blaming It On The Person Being Lazy”: Stigma In The Lives Of Precariously Housed And Unhoused People, Brenna Jones, Brian Pitman

Graduate Research - Criminal Justice Sciences

Housing is increasingly a market exploited by corporations and what Samuel Stein calls the Real Estate State. Consequently, the state continues to target those impacted by these policy choices with removal and further stigmatization to clear the way for profit-making, which is tied to the housing market. The process of removal is accomplished through various forms of stigmatization and dehumanization, first at the public and institutional level. These stigmas then trickle down to intra-community and self-stigmatization. In all, these stigmas serve to justify and maintain the evolving status quo of homelessness and precarious housing, deflecting the blame of this “crisis” …

Strategic Ambiguity Or Strategic Clarity: China’S Rise And Us Policy Towards The Taiwan Issue, T.Y. Wang

Faculty Publications – Politics and Government

Observers have noted that Washington’s policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’ aims not only to deter China from attacking Taiwan but also to keep Taipei from taking actions that may be deemed provocative by Beijing leaders. Remarks and actions taken by former United States President Joseph Biden seem to place America’s long-held ambiguous policy in doubt. It has been argued that a clear security commitment from Washington is likely to bolster Taiwan citizens’ unrealistic expectations of America’s defence support and their calls for independence, which will certainly invite Beijing’s violent responses. Employing the theory of deterrence and survey data collected in Taiwan …

Autism Is Black Too! Intersectional Experiences With Service Provision For Black Autistic Individuals And Their Families, Brea M. Banks, Tyra Jackson, Randi Goodwin, Raven Moore

Faculty Publications – Psychology

We aimed to address a gap in the literature surrounding the experiences of Black autistic individuals and their families, specific to their engagement in the diagnostic process and service provision broadly. Our study was theoretically oriented in critical theories, as we aimed to push back against the dominant narrative about autism. We used qualitative methods and conducted interviews with Black autistic people (n = 2) and parents of Black autistic people (n = 9) to learn about their experiences. We employed an inductive approach to interpretation of data and used MAXQDA to engage in analysis. Results demonstrated that …

Examining Equifinality And Multifinality Using Outcome-Partitioned Person-Centered Analyses: A Proof-Of-Concept With Youth Developmental Assets And Health, Luke Russell, Todd M. Jensen, Jonathon J. Beckmeyer, Chang Su-Russell

Faculty Publications - Family and Consumer Sciences

Early general systems theorists proposed a key difference between living systems and physical systems is the widespread presence of equifinality and multifinality among living organisms. That is, in living systems, there are often variable pathways to the same outcomes (equifinality), or the same starting conditions can lead to disparate outcomes (multifinality). Family scientists, however, frequently use methods (adapted from the physical sciences) that fail to reflect these characteristics within their statistical models. In this paper, we propose and provide a preliminary proof-of-concept of how an outcome-partitioned set of person-centered analyses might be used to develop alternative models that more comprehensively …

Carceral Consequences And Perverse Perks: Care And The Disciplinary Alternative School, Kaitlyn J. Selman

Faculty Publications - Criminal Justice Sciences

Drawing on in-depth interviews with current and former students, parents, teachers, and staff members connected with three alternative schools in one Kentucky, USA school district, this work contributes to the theorization of carceral care. Instead of reducing the alternative school, its processes, and its functions down into a dichotomized question of good or bad, productive or violent, we come to see the dialectical nature of carcerality and the logics of care. Specifically, the negative consequences that students are subjected to are justified and internalized by the (perverse) benefits of attendance, thus dissipating from the realm of critique. As such, I …

The Role Of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners: Addressing The Shortage And Its Implications For Healthcare, Isabel Mary Mccarthy

Nursing | Senior Theses

Background: Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) are registered nurses specifically trained to perform forensic examinations and provide medical and emotional support to sexual assault victims. Many nursing programs lack formal education on SANE practices, which can hinder students' preparedness to address such cases in their future careers.

Method: A mixed-methods, three-phase approach to evaluate the effectiveness of a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) training module within the Dominican University of California Nursing Program. 40- 60 nursing students will be separated into two separate community health classes with one given module in SANEs nursing and the other not. Both classes …

Cover Art, Vân Lê

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Dim Theory Applied To Law: The Disintegration Of American Law, Tristen Fleig

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Plato, Aristotle, and Montesquieu each argued the importance of law to political regime and Constitution. The ancients emphasized the law as the rational component of the regime and Montesquieu applied some of the first political science to show how political regimes rely upon law. Still, the exact connection between law and politics, and law and philosophy more broadly has remained largely obscured. In my account, legal system ought to be understood as the institutional framework that supports and protect a particular kind of life accepted by the intellectuals and the people of a nation. Using DIM theory from The DIM …

The Mediating Role Of Social Connectedness In The Association Between Volunteering And Affect In Daily Life: A Dynamic Approach, Megan E. Mansfield

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Sustained engagement in prosocial behaviors, like volunteering is an evidence-supported facilitator of well-being. Volunteering and well-being are also dynamic processes unfolding over long and short timespans, which is well reflected in research on well-being (e.g., Heshmati et al., 2023) but less so in the research on volunteering. This is the case despite existing evidence demonstrating that dynamic changes in components of well-being, like emotions, are associated with engagement in particular behaviors including civic or prosocial behaviors (Hou & Bonanno, 2018; Snippe et al., 2017). Therefore, it would be reasonable to suspect that volunteering may have a similar dynamic relationship with …

Personal Wisdom And Coping: Insights From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Noah Ringler

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Much of personal wisdom research has focused on the relationship between personal wisdom and difficult life events (DLEs). Research indicates that those high in personal wisdom cope more effectively with DLEs. However, these studies primarily focused on older adults and assessed coping through well-being measures. Seeking to address these limitations, Ringler (2021) found that mindfulness partially mediates the relationship between personal wisdom and coping with DLEs (measured through meaning-making) in a more age-diverse sample. Despite this progress, several gaps in knowledge remain. For example, there is still a lack of understanding about how wisdom relates to the use of specific …

Maritime Industry Cybersecurity Threats In 2025: Advanced Persistent Threats (Apts), Hacktivism And Vulnerabilities, Minodora Badea, Olga Bucovetchi, Adrian V. Gheorghe, Mihaela Hnatiuc, Gabriel Raicu

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: The maritime industry, vital for global trade, faces escalating cyber threats in 2025. Critical port infrastructures are increasingly vulnerable due to rapid digitalization and the integration of IT and operational technology (OT) systems. Methods: Using 112 incidents from the Maritime Cyber Attack Database (MCAD, 2020-2025), we developed a novel quantitative risk assessment model based on a Threat-Vulnerability-Impact (T-V-I) framework, calibrated with MITRE ATT&CK techniques and validated against historical incidents. Results: Our analysis reveals a 150% rise in incidents, with OT compromise identified as the paramount threat (98/100 risk score). Ports in Poland and Taiwan face the …

The Benefits Of A Single-Item Screening For Sud, Abriana Harris, Kathryn Polak Ph.D.

IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this poster is to examine the effectiveness of a single-item screening on detecting if people have problem drinking or are at risk for AUD. As Dr. Polak’s research has examined potential risk of problem drinking within OUD rehabilitation centers through single-item screening, it highlights how problem drinking has been underinvestigated within other SUD. Throughout the experience of working under Dr. Polak, I searched through articles to find how single-item screenings worked within different clinical setting for detection of potential risk of AUD. In these articles, it showed how single-item screenings had better self-efficacy than multi-item screenings and …

Surveying The Relationship Between Adult Support And Youth Civic Engagement, Jaylin Pate, Kimberly Lazarus M.S., Fantasy Lozada Ph.D.

IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations

This study explored the relationship between adult support in decision-making and youth civic engagement. Youth Voices, a community-based program, aims to support high school students in understanding positive youth development opportunities. Participants in the program attended weekly meetings and were compared to a control group with no similar intervention. Both groups completed Likert-scale surveys. Results indicate that higher levels of perceived adult support are associated with increased youth civic engagement.

Gender And Sexuality Identity Support In Crps Lowers Depression For Lgbtq+ Crp Participants, Which Is Related To Increased Recovery Capital, Kyle Hull, Mer Francis Phd, The National Longitudinal Collegiate Recovery Study (Core Study) Team

IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations

PURPOSE: Compared to their cisgender/heterosexual peers, LGBTQ+ college students are at elevated risk of substance use and mental health challenges. Having more LGBTQ+ identity support is related to less depression and better recovery outcomes. Collegiate recovery programs (CRPs) provide wraparound support to students in recovery, but limited research has examined the unique needs of LGBTQ+ CRP students. We examined the relationship between LGBTQ+ identity support, identity-related discrimination experiences, depression, and recovery capital. We also compared the psychosocial and recovery functioning of LGBTQ+ CRP students. METHODS: We examined data from N=113 LGBTQ+ participants from the National Longitudinal Collegiate Recovery Study. We …

The Relationship Between Discrimination And Mental Health Symptoms Mediated By Alcohol Use And Perceived Family History Of Drinking Problem, Vicky Gonzalez, Spit For Science Working Group, Christina Huerta

IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations

College is an onset age for drinking problems to begin, college is also a new environment that can lead to discrimination due to the lack of diversity. The current study aims to examine the relationship between the mental health issues presented from experiencing discrimination. The study also aims to take drinking issues a step further and examine if familial ties of drinking issues related to both mental health as well as discrimination. Individual and interaction effects of discrimination and perceived family drinking on mental health issues were run through Stata. The study found that both perceived family drinking as well …

Losing Status And Entitativity: How Population Shifts Affect Attitudes Toward Immigrants Via Social Identity Threats, Xiang Ao

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Many Western countries’ populations have been diversifying due to the decline of ethnic majority groups coupled with an increase in ethnic minority populations. Previous studies established that such demographic changes can result in negative attitudes toward immigrants via elevated status threat to the ethnic majority group. Drawing from social identity theory and uncertainty-identity theory, two studies were conducted to examine whether population shift can elicit anti-immigration sentiment via the elevated entitativity threat to American national identity in addition to the threat to Whites’ status (H1). Study 1 ( N = 297) examined H1 using a between-subjects design in which participants …

Outness Through A Cultural Lens: Self-Construal Impacts Disclosure Among Diverse Sexual Minority Individuals, Ivy Alexandra Carrete

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This research aimed to advance an empirically informed understanding of the role of culture in sexual identity management decisions and disclosure tendencies among sexual minority individuals (SMIs) from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Sexual identity management decisions – in relation to voluntary disclosure of sexual identity – reflect purposeful interactions between SMIs and their environments shaped by the self-concept and resulting in motivational preferences and tendencies regarding disclosure that permeate across social contexts and life domains (Jones & King, 2014, Lidderdale et al, 2007; Ragins, 2008). Recognizing cultural worldviews (e.g., collectivism and individualism) as deeply embedded within the self-concept, the present research …

The Women’S Legal Rights Index: A New Approach To Measuring Women’S Autonomy, Mona Shadia

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Existing indicators of women’s empowerment focus on women’s educational attainment. Yet theories of women’s empowerment in politics, in particular their role in democratization, extend beyond the consequences of education to require agency and autonomy in their lives. In the first chapter of this dissertation, I argue that in an effort to measure women’s citizenship and standing in their respective societies, access to legal rights should be measured and considered. My theoretical framework builds on literature that demonstrates that while education is critical to women’s prosperity in many facets of life, other measures related to their legal rights can provide a …

Postsecondary Enrollment Demand-Gap Estimation Model: Projecting The Postsecondary Demand-Gap For California By 2035, Manish Ranjan Shrivastav

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The postsecondary education system in California has been under the pressure of expansion by the means of opening a new campus for several years. The Legislative Analyst’s Office has been recommending whether to open new campus or not as a part of its mandate. In 1990, it recommended opening up of one campus of CSU, however, its projections grossly underestimated the future demand. In 2017, the LAO in its report recommended that given the demand projections there is no need for a new campus. The study commissioned by the Chancellor’s office of California State University also made the same recommendation. …

Three Essays On Consumption And Information, Jin Xu

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation uses theoretical, empirical, and experimental methods to investigate how environmental constraints and psychological mechanisms shape individual consumption and information preference. Chapter 1 explores the impact of COVID-19 lockdown policies on alcohol and tobacco use in the United States. Using data from the 2020 wave of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and exploiting the exogenous variation in initial lockdown orders across states, we estimate the impact of stay-at-home orders on drinking and smoking behaviors for adults in the United States. Combining the propensity score matching method with the difference-in-differences identification strategy, we find that, at least in …

The Us Unconventional Monetary Policy And International Capital Flows To Emerging Market Economies, Tianyuan Zhang

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the spillover effects of US monetary policy on international capital inflows to emerging market economies (EMEs) from 2003Q1 to 2019Q4, with a focus on quantitative easing (QE) and its normalization phases, including both tapering and quantitative tightening (QT). Using a panel data model with fixed effects, this dissertation finds that the spillover effects of US monetary policy during the QE period have a more pronounced effect on EME capital inflows than do those during the normalization period, where the effects are relatively muted. Second, decomposing the normalization phase into tapering and QT periods reveals that the impact …

Predictive Analysis Of Arizona Dust Storms (1996–2023): Gis, Artificial Intelligence (Maxent), And Spatiotemporal Data, Soheil Bouzari

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation looks at how well Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model can predict duststorms in Arizona, United States. MaxEnt is a machine learning tool that was first developed to predict where different species might live. MaxEnt uses presence-only data which makes it especially useful in environments where reliable absence data is hard to find or unavailable. This study analyzes if the combination of MaxEnt within Geographic Information Systems (ArgGIS Pro) and spatiotemporal data can provide data-driven and reliable predictions of dust storms susceptibility in Arizona. The framework that was used for this study is Design Science Research because of its problem-solving …

Building The Beast: The Evolution Of Mara Salvatrucha (Ms-13) From Street Gang To Transnational Criminal Organization, Marisa Mendoza

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation explores the evolution of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) from a social stoner group in Los Angeles to a feared transnational criminal organization (TCO). Through a longitudinal study of literature and opensource materials spanning over 50 years, this study examines suppression and policy reforms enacted in the United States, Mexico, and Northern Triangle region of Central America that have catalyzed shifts in the criminal ecosystem, and vice versa. By exploring the genealogical makeup of TCO networks, particularly La Cosa Nostra, Mexican Mafia prison gang, and Los Zetas drug trafficking cartel, it will provide a better understanding of how an anomaly …