Psychology Commons^™

Information Behavior In The Mobile Environment: An Overview, Ziming Liu

School of Information Student Research Journal

As smartphones become ubiquitous, they increasingly influence the way in which students seek and use information. It is important to understand emerging information behavior as a result of wide spread use of smartphones. This paper provides an overview of information behavior in the mobile environment. Gender differences in mobile information seeking are discussed. People interact with mobile information in varied and unpredictable locations or while in transit. The mobility of information engagement is an important issue that human information theory should embrace.

Dimensions Of Black Identity Predict System Justification, Ellie Shockley, Ashley Wynn, Leslie Ashburn-Nardo

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

What explains variability in African Americans’ sociopolitical attitudes? System justification theory implicates both high- and low-status groups in the maintenance of the socioeconomic and political system, postulating that individuals are motivated to justify the system. Self-interest offers a simple explanation for system justification among high-status groups. However, system justification among African Americans is less well-understood. Using a socioeconomically diverse sample of 275 Black undergraduates, including traditional as well as older students, the current survey and quantitative analyses further understanding of attitudes toward the system and institutions by linking attitudes with Black identity. Findings revealed that highly identifying as Black negatively …

Burnout Is Associated With A Depressive Cognitive Style, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

We examined whether burnout is associated with a depressive cognitive style, understood as a combination of dysfunctional attitudes, ruminative responses, and pessimistic attributions. A total of 1386 U.S. public school teachers were included—1063 women (M_age: 42.73, SD_age = 11.36) and 323 men (M_age: 44.60, SD_age = 11.42). Burnout was assessed with the Shirom–Melamed Burnout Measure (SMBM). Dysfunctional attitudes were measured with the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale Short Form, ruminative responses with the Ruminative Responses Scale, and pessimistic attributions with the Depressive Attributions Questionnaire. For comparative purposes, depression was assessed using the 9-item depression module of the …

Burnout-Depression Overlap: A Study Of New Zealand Schoolteachers, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Mayor, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

We examined the overlap of burnout with depression in a sample of 184 New Zealand schoolteachers. Burnout and depressive symptoms were strongly correlated with each other (r = .73; disattenuated correlation: .82) and moderately correlated with dysfunctional attitudes, ruminative responses, and pessimistic attributions. All the participants with high frequencies of burnout symptoms were identified as clinically depressed. Suicidal ideation was reported by 36% of those participants. Three groups of teachers emerged from a two-step cluster analysis: “low burnout-depression,” “medium burnout-depression,” and “high burnout-depression.” The correlation between the affective-cognitive and somatic symptoms of depression was similar in strength to the burnout-depression …

Bah Humbug: Unexpected Christmas Cards And The Reciprocity Norm, Brian P. Meier

Psychology Faculty Publications

The reciprocity norm refers to the expectation that people will help those who helped them. A well-known study revealed that the norm is strong with Christmas cards, with 20% of people reciprocating a Christmas card received from a stranger. I attempted to conceptually replicate and extend this effect. In Study 1, 755 participants received a Christmas card supposedly from a more- versus less-similar stranger. The reciprocation rate was unexpectedly low (2%), which did not allow for a test of a similarity effect. Two potential reasons for this low rate were examined in Study 2 in which 494 participants reported their …

The Impact Of Ethnicity And Social Class On The Practice Of Corporal Punishment, Jana Weiss

MA Community Psychology Theses

The purpose of this research is to explore disciplinary practices employed by families from different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. In history, corporal punishment, (CP; also known as flagellation) was a practice widely used in religious settings during the eighth century. The social norm was to whip for punishment but also for pleasure. For some, CP is one way of disciplining children in home and in school settings. There are signs that are present in determining whether a parent may practice CP in the home that include certain parenting behaviors, socioeconomic status (SES), parent mood, and discipline responses. It has been …

Impact Of Stigma On Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help For Depression, Anna Marie Dierks

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Depression is the most common mental illness, affecting almost seven percent of Americans each year. Although mental illness treatment through professional psychological services has been proven to be effective, underutilization of these services is high. Underutilization of seeking help could lead to serious consequences, such as suicide. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults aged 15-34 years old and in 2013 the highest rates of suicide were among adults aged 45-64 years old. Stigma has been viewed as a barrier to seeking professional psychological help.

Two age groups were chosen for this research due …

Burnout And Depression: Label-Related Stigma, Help-Seeking, And Syndrome Overlap, Renzo Bianchi, Jay Verkuilen, Romain Brisson, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

We investigated whether burnout and depression differed in terms of public stigma and help-seeking attitudes and behaviors. Secondarily, we examined the overlap of burnout and depressive symptoms. A total of 1046 French schoolteachers responded to an Internet survey in November–December 2015. The survey included measures of public stigma, help-seeking attitudes and behaviors, burnout and depressive symptoms, self-rated health, neuroticism, extraversion, history of anxiety or depressive disorder, social desirability, and sociodemographic variables.The burnout label appeared to be less stigmatizing than the depression label. In either case, however, fewer than 1% of the participants exhibited stigma scores signaling agreement with the proposed …

Correlations Between Sexual Imagery And Sexual Cognitions, Jennifer L. Mcdonnell

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Analyzing the relationship between the visual imagery used in music videos, and the sexual cognition of viewers. Sexual cognition is the awareness of one's own sexual behavior, and its implications. The visual content of music videos was analyzed focusing only on the imagery used. The Heterosexual Script (Jhally, 2007) in particular is observed in most music videos, highlighting the sexual objectification of women and the dominant role of males. The direction of causality between the visual imagery and sexual cognitions can only be speculated using a number of theories, namely cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1957), cultivation theory (Gerbner et al., 1994), …

Urban Congolese Refugees In Kenya: The Contingencies Of Coping And Resilience In A Context Marked By Structural Vulnerability, Julie A. Tippens

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The global increase in refugee migration to urban areas creates challenges pertaining to the promotion of refugee health, broadly conceived. Despite considerable attention to trauma and forced migration, there is relatively little focus on how refugees cope with stressful situations, and on the determinants that facilitate and undermine resilience. This article examines how urban Congolese refugees in Kenya promote psychosocial well-being in the context of structural vulnerability. This article is based on interviews (N = 55) and ethnographic participant observation with Congolese refugees over a period of 8 months in Nairobi in 2014. Primary stressors related to scarcity of material …

Slam Poetry: An Online Intervention For Treating Depression, Spencer J. Ruchti, Mercedes Becker, Cara Mckee, Austin Herron, Alex Swalling

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Given that depression is the “leading cause of disability worldwide,” and that less than 50% of people suffering from depression receive treatment, this study aims to provide support for a globally accessible depression treatment (WHO, 2012). The study conducted implemented an internet-based treatment for depression in which users were provided an opportunity to watch slam poetry videos related to mental health issues and write free responses regarding the content of the videos and their subjective experience of depression. Numerous studies provide support for the effectiveness of expressive writing, online mental health interventions, and slam poetry in particular for reducing symptoms …

Factors Predicting African American Renal Patients’ Completion Of The Medical Evaluation Process For Kidney Transplantation, Camilla W. Nonterah

Theses and Dissertations

African Americans (AA) are more susceptible to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) for several reasons. Treatment options for patients with ESRD include dialysis therapy and transplantation, with the latter typically producing better outcomes. AA are less likely to complete the medical evaluation process, which requires patients to consult with doctors and undergo a series of tests and examinations. This study sought to determine the factors that predict completion of the medical evaluation for AA ESRD patients using a mixed methods design. Participants consisted of transplant professionals (N=23) recruited from nine transplant centers in the Mid-Atlantic, Mid-Western and Southeastern parts …

Burnout In Firefighters: A Word On Methodology, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Renzo Bianchi

Publications and Research

At least three methodological problems affect the study by Katsavouni et al. (2016). First, there are currently no diagnostic criteria for burnout, neither in the DSM-5, nor in the ICD-10. Second, one extremely important variable was omitted from this study of firefighters, namely, depression. Third, the authors did not control for relevant nonoccupational factors such as stressors occurring outside of work.

The Cyber Aggression In Relationships Scale: A New Multidimensional Measure Of Technology-Based Intimate Partner Aggression, Laura E. Watkins, Rosalita C. Maldonado, David Dilillo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to develop and provide initial validation for a measure of adult cyber intimate partner aggression (IPA): the Cyber Aggression in Relationships Scale (CARS). Drawing on recent conceptual models of cyber IPA, items from previous research exploring general cyber aggression and cyber IPA were modified and new items were generated for inclusion in the CARS. Two samples of adults 18 years or older were recruited online. We used item factor analysis to test the factor structure, model fit, and invariance of the measure structure across women and men. Results confirmed that three-factor models for both …

Measuring Older Adult Confidence In The Courts And Law Enforcement, Joseph A. Hamm, Lindsey E. Wylie, Eve M. Brank

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Older adults are an increasingly relevant subpopulation for criminal justice policy but, as yet, are largely neglected in the relevant research. The current research addresses this by reporting on a psychometric evaluation of a measure of older adults’ Confidence in Legal Institutions (CLI). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) provided support for the unidimensionality and reliability of the measures. In addition, participants’ CLI was related to cynicism, trust in government, dispositional trust, age, and education, but not income or gender. The results provide support for the measures of confidence in the courts and law enforcement, so we present the scale as a …

Differences In Attitudes Towards Heterosexual And Lgbt Homeless Youth In College Students, Jonathan P. S. Clinkenbeard

All Master's Theses

Youth homelessness, particularly among those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT), continues to be an underreported problem in society today. This research was designed to investigate hypothesized differences in college students’ empathy towards heterosexual and LGBT youth, and what factors influence these differences. A sample of 81 female and 36 male participants read one of 12 vignettes describing a homeless youth’s situation and then, using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, rated their level of empathy on a scale of 1 (low) to 7 (high). Vignettes differed by the youth’s gender, sexual orientation, and reason for …

The “Burnout” Construct: An Inhibitor Of Public Health Action?, Bianchi Renzo, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

The prevention and treatment of the “burnout syndrome” within the critical care community is an important objective of the Moss et al. Burnout in the occupational area is based on the idea that burnout is especially common in individuals who care for critically ill patients. We think that the authors’ observations and recommendations are diminished by the fact that studies of burnout’s prevalence are methodologically problematic. The current definition and use of the burnout construct may in fact be detrimental to public health decision making.

"Language Preference And Cognitive Availability Of Sexual Identity In Gay Japanese Bilinguals: An Analysis Of Habitual Use Of Linguistic Categories", Sebastian Cordoba

Dissertations and Theses

Sexuality is a very private matter in Japan. Japan’s cultural mores and concepts of family unity have led to very conservative attitudes toward homosexuality. For instance, gay people generally fear disgracing their families, and this fear might prevent them from revealing their sexual identity to others, and so keeping it secret. Thus, homosexuality in Japan is a highly controversial topic. Being gay in Japan is not as tolerated as it is in some Western cultures (McLelland, 2000). Homosexuality is an issue that is not acknowledged by mainstream Japanese society – it is taboo and not spoken about publicly. The present …

The Effects Of Construal Level On Stigmatizing Attitudes Toward An Individual With Mental Illness, Jeremy Glenn Gay

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

People with mental illness often face stigmatization by society. However, little research has examined cognitive factors that may activate or dissipate stigmatizing attitudes toward those with mental illness. Construal level, or the extent that people focus on abstract generalizations versus concrete details of events, may be one such cognitive factor. Two contradictory hypotheses emerged concerning how construal may affect stigmatizing attitudes. One hypothesis suggests that abstract construals will decrease stigmatization because abstract construals tend to increase the activation of similar goals, thus leading to a similarity focus. In contrast, another hypothesis suggests that abstract construals will increase stigmatization because abstract …

Behavioral Couples Treatment For Substance Use Disorder: Secondary Effects On The Reduction Of Risk For Child Abuse, Michelle L. Kelley, Adrian J. Bravo, Abby L. Braitman, Adrienne K. Lawless, Hannah R. Lawrence

Psychology Faculty Publications

Risk for child abuse was examined prior to and after behavioral couples treatment (BCT) among 61 couples in which one or both parents were diagnosed with substance use disorder (SUD). All couples were residing with one or more school-age children. Mothers and fathers completed pretreatment, post-intervention, and 6 month post-intervention follow-up assessments. Results of piecewise latent growth models tested whether the number of BCT sessions attended and number of days abstinent from drugs and alcohol influenced relationship satisfaction and its growth over time, and in turn if relationship satisfaction and change in relationship satisfaction influenced risk for child abuse. For …

Burnout And Depression: Label-Related Stigma, Help-Seeking, And Syndrome Overlap, Renzo Bianchi, Jay Verkuilen, Romain Brisson, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

We investigated whether burnout and depression differed in terms of public stigma and help-seeking attitudes and behaviors. Secondarily, we examined the overlap of burnout and depressive symptoms. A total of 1046 French schoolteachers responded to an Internet survey in November–December 2015. The survey included measures of public stigma, help-seeking attitudes and behaviors, burnout and depressive symptoms, self-rated health, neuroticism, extraversion, history of anxiety or depressive disorder, social desirability, and socio-demographic variables. The burnout label appeared to be less stigmatizing than the depression label. In either case, however, fewer than 1% of the participants exhibited …

Depression Among African American Midlife Women: Delineating The Role Of Stress, Heather Page

Theses and Dissertations

Recent multi-ethnic epidemiologic studies indicate an increased risk for the onset of new as well as recurrent episodes of clinical depression among midlife women. However, little is known about the risk factors that influence the occurrence, severity, and course of depression in midlife among African American women (AAW). The purpose of the current study was to statistically model three prevailing conceptual views of stress and depression: 1) life course, 2) stress exposure, and 3) stress generation). The research investigated the abilities of these conceptual models to predict depressive symptoms severity, current depressed days, and major depression among midlife AAW. Data …

Getting To Outcomes® In Clinical Practice An Empirical Exploration Of A Framework That Supports Quality For Graduate Student Therapy Training, Jennifer Castellow

Theses and Dissertations

Getting To Outcomes® in Clinical Practice is an innovation being developed and disseminated in a clinical training center for psychology doctoral students. The innovation is a step-wise framework posited to enhance clinical practice by supporting the planning, implementation, and evaluation of specific evidence-based practices in psychology. The current study introduces and defines the innovation and uses a multiple case study, mixed method analysis to evaluate current innovation use behaviors as well as attitudes about the innovation. The guiding research themes for this study include: (1) innovation use behaviors, (2) attitudes about the innovation, and (3) influential contextual factors that impact …

Promoting Positive Academic Beliefs And Performance: Exploring The Impact Of An Academic Enrichment Program, Melanie Avery

Theses and Dissertations

First generation and low income college students experience unique achievementrelated barriers not typically experienced by their counterparts whose parents attended college and/or are of higher socioeconomic status (Hahs-Vaugn, 2004; Kahlenberg, 2004; Mortensen, 2003; Prospero & Vohra-Gupta, 2007). Academic enrichment programs that target first generation and low income college youth are one strategy that has helped to address these concerns. To extend literature in this area, the current study sought to identify factors that may be promotive of and/or barriers to first generation and low income youths’ achievement-related outcomes. Furthermore, this investigation sought to explore whether an academic enrichment program, namely …

“More To Life Than Mental Health”: Investigating The Roles Of Community Mental Health Case Managers In Promoting Community Integration For Adults With Psychiatric Disabilities, Betsy A. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

The recovery movement in the field of community mental health has brought attention to more holistic outcomes of services for adults with psychiatric disabilities, including community integration. However, there is a lack of empirical investigations of the roles that service providers, and case managers (CMs) in particular, can play in promoting such outcomes for their clients. The present study took an exploratory, hypothesis-building approach to describing the ways in which CMs supported the community integration of their clients with serious mental illness. A cross-sectional design was used with qualitative and quantitative data collected from 6 CMs and a sampling of …

Help-Seeking And Intimate Partner Violence Re-Victimization Of Sexual Minority And Heterosexual College Students, Andrew T. Schramm

Theses and Dissertations

Recent estimates indicate that 18.5% of heterosexual college students and 30.3% of sexual minority college students are victims of physical intimate partner violence (IPV; Edwards, Sylaska, Barry, et al., 2015). Research among adult women in oppositesex relationships has shown that once an individual is victimized by IPV she is subsequently at high risk for future IPV victimization. Re-victimization is associated with more severe physical and mental health consequences of IPV. No prior study has assessed the rate of re-victimization among sexual minority adults. Help-seeking behavior, which refers to accessing a range of sources of support (e.g., family and friends, law …

Exploring The Relationship Between Church Level Predictors Of Status And Obesity Risk In African American Women Of Faith, Kinjal Pandya

Theses and Dissertations

Although obesity is a nationwide epidemic, there are large racial, gender, socioeconomic, and geographical disparities in the rates of this condition. Specifically, African American women are more likely to be classified as obese as compared to all other gender and racial groups. Scholars have targeted African American churches to implement dietary and physical activity interventions in an attempt to combat the racial disparity in obesity rates. One of the main correlates studied in regards to obesity has been individual level markers of status such as socioeconomic status and subjective social status. Even though we focus on churches as a place …

Preliminary Evaluation Of "Footprints": Motivational Interviewing To Promote Cognitive-Behavioral Skills, Academic Outcomes, And Academic Protective Factors In Middle School Students, John Terry

Theses and Dissertations

There are high levels of unmet need in youth mental health services. To address this gap there is an increasing emphasis on multi-tiered systems of support involving promotion/prevention (Tier 1), early intervention (Tier 2) and intervention (Tier 3) to promote positive emotional/behavioral functioning in students. While research on these multi-tiered frameworks is increasing, there remains a relative dearth of empirically supported and feasible early intervention Tier 2 programs. To help address this gap, we developed the Tier 2 program, Footprints, which utilizes two Motivational Interviewing sessions to promote engagement in six group-based modularized Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy sessions and aims to enhance …

Environmental Influences On Elite Sport Athletes Well Being: From Gold, Silver, And Bronze To Blue Green And Gold, Aoife Donnelly, Tadhg Macintyre, Nollaig O'Sullivan, Giles Warrington, Andrew Harrison, Eric Igou, Marc Jones, Chris Gidlow, Noel Brick, Ian Lahart, Andrew Lane

Articles

This paper considers the environmental impact on well-being and performance in elite athletes during Olympic competition. The benefits of exercising in natural environments are recognized, but less is known about the effects on performance and health in elite athletes. Although some Olympic events take place in natural environments, the majority occur in the host city, usually a large densely populated area where low exposure to natural environments is compounded by exposure to high levels of air, water, and noise pollution in the ambient environment. By combining methods and expertise from diverse but inter-related disciplines including environmental psychology, exercise physiology, biomechanics, …

Exploring Teacher Readiness: What Features Of Professional Development Enhance Motivation To Implement Technology Innovations?, Robert S. Markle

Theses and Dissertations

Several studies suggest that if evidence-based school innovations are to be successful, schools must possess adequate capacity to implement them with quality. This paper utilizes a framework of organizational readiness called R=MC2, positing that readiness to implement with quality consists of three components: general capacities, innovation-specific capacities, and motivation. Specifically, this paper investigates whether certain key characteristics of professional development (active learning, integration, time for practice, collaboration, tailoring, coaching, and provision of feedback) can impact teacher motivation to implement novel educational practices. The paper answers two major research questions: 1) Which characteristics of quality professional development (PD) are related to …