Psychology Commons^™

Hierarchical Clustering Reveals Multilevel Structure For Multifactorial Assessment In Community-Dwelling Older Adults, Brittany S. Samulski, Ashwini Kulkarni, Neda Moghim, Ross Gore, Soumya Banerjee, Christopher K. Rhea

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Multifactorial falls assessment is recommended for older adults at elevated risk but can generate numerous potentially overlapping measurements, increasing testing burden despite potentially diminishing informational returns as correlated measures are added. Characterizing how measures covary may inform subsequent efforts to evaluate more efficient assessment procedures. Community-dwelling older adults (n = 298) completed a single-visit assessment including the Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA), preferred- and maximal-speed walking, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and Modified Falls Efficacy Scale (MFES). Hierarchical agglomerative clustering was applied to 51 variables. Dendrogram fidelity, cluster separation, and resampling stability were evaluated using the cophenetic correlation coefficient (CCC), silhouette width, …

A Narrative Review Of Bertolotti's Syndrome: Etiology, Classification, Diagnosis, And Treatment, Matyas Abel Tsegaye, Andrea Muffly

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Bertolotti's syndrome is a congenital condition characterized by chronic low back pain stemming from a lumbosacral transitional vertebra (LSTV). Because the condition is frequently overlooked, patients often face years of delayed diagnosis before the true source of their pain is identified. Furthermore, current information regarding the biological origins and clinical management of the condition remain scattered. To address this knowledge gap, this narrative review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of Bertolotti’s syndrome by consolidating these disparate sources and suggesting new connections. We synthesize the latest understanding of this condition, ranging from its genetic origins to modern clinical management. We …

Susceptibility To High-Fidelity Misinformation: An Eye-Tracking Analysis, Yasasi Abeysinghe, Gavindya Jayawardena, Enkelejda Kasneci, Sampath Jayarathna

Computer Science Faculty Publications

With the rise of online misinformation and AI-generated text, understanding human perception of news truthfulness is critical. In this study, we examine visual attention and cognitive processing using eye-tracking measures as individuals read fake and real news articles sharing nearly identical structure and imagery, differing only in subtle textual changes. Using the public FakeNewsPerception dataset, we analyze advanced gaze measures, including scanpaths, AOI transitions, and luminance-corrected pupil measures, beyond basic gaze features, in relation to news truthfulness and perceived believability. Results show that, given the high fidelity of the fake news, readers exhibited comparable visual scanning patterns, attention allocation across …

Steady As She Goes: Remote Work Benefits Daily Goal Progress Through Reduced Energy Variability, Andrew A. Bennett, Kathleen R. Keeler, Emily D. Campion, Sheila K. Keener

Management Faculty Publications

As the prevalence and allowance of remote and hybrid work evolves, research has shown consistently mixed findings about how work location is related to worker energy and perceptions of daily performance. We aim to resolve this ambiguity by integrating affective events theory with ideas about emotion dynamics to develop new theorizing explaining why energy variability, rather than mean energy level, is an important predictor of daily goal progress. We test our hypotheses using a sample of 219 employees from one organization allowing remote and hybrid work, capturing individual hourly energy levels for five consecutive workdays (4,812 hourly observations). Our …

Does The Use Of Protective Behavioral Strategies Moderate The Relationship Between Perceived Peer Cannabis Use And Personal Use?, Mia Forsythe, Erica E. Mcdonald, Melissa N. Manning, Audrey L. Bell, Alicia Moulder, Cathy Lau-Barraco

The Knowledge and Creativity Expo

The perception that close friends frequently use substances (i.e., descriptive norms) has been shown to increase personal use frequency and subsequent negative consequences. Within alcohol literature, protective behavioral strategies (PBS), actions aimed at reducing negative consequences of substance use (e.g., avoiding use before work), have been shown to moderate the effect of this relationship. However, this relationship in cannabis use remains unexplored. Thus, the current study examines PBS use as a moderator between descriptive norms and cannabis use frequency. We hypothesize that a positive association between descriptive norms and cannabis frequency will be weakened by greater PBS use. Undergraduate past-month …

Under Pressure: Associations Between Discrimination, Expressive Suppression, And Coping Drinking Motives Among Sexual Minority Women, Erica E. Mcdonald, Mia Forsythe, Audrey L. Bell, Melissa N. Manning, Alicia Moulder, Cathy Lau-Barraco

The Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Within Minority Stress Theory, heterosexist discrimination has been linked to drinking to cope (DTC) motives, or drinking as a way to manage negative emotions. DTC motives are associated with heightened negative consequences from drinking. Prior research has found that high levels of expressive suppression (i.e., inhibition of ongoing emotion-expressive behavior) confer risk for coping motivated drinking. Given sexual minority women’s (SMW) elevated risk for DTC motives, examining expressive suppression and discrimination as correlates may address an important gap in literature. Thus, the current study examined expressive suppression as a factor impacting the relationship between external discrimination and coping motives among …

Professional Standards For School-Based Behavior Analysts (2nd Edition), Selena J. Layden, Emily Muise, Karen L. Berlin, Samantha Gregory, Daniel Irwin, Kaylan Long, Daria K. Lorio-Barsten, Jennifer L. O’Berry, Hannah Riddle

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Public educational settings are unique and complex environments that require specific knowledge and skills for the professionals that work in these environments. School-based behavior analysts can be a great asset to public schools. However, these professionals must be able to firmly understand and perform the responsibilities of a behavior analyst in collaboration with educators and service providers in a public school setting. The presence of behavior analysts in public schools is still relatively new, when compared with other specialized services. Therefore, behavior analysts, teachers, administrators, and others should focus on collaboration to promote the success for all stakeholders with an …

The Relationship Between Physical Activity, Sleep, And Hallucinations In Adults With Charles Bonnet Syndrome, Jarrod Hollis, Rohit Narayan, Eldre W. Beukes, Rosie Lindsay, Aliyah Bharwani, Umair Mughal, Ikra Yaqoob, Justin A. Haegele, Scott Muriden, Peter M. Allen

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Physical activity levels, hallucination experiences, sleep quality, and perceived stress were assessed using a survey administered to 57 adults with a confirmed diagnosis of Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS). Physical activity demonstrated a significant negative correlation with hallucination severity (r = –0.335, p = 0.011, two-tailed). A significant negative correlation was also observed between physical activity and perceived stress (r = –0.497, p < 0.001, two-tailed). In contrast, no significant association was identified between hallucination frequency and sleep disruption or insomnia. These findings suggest that engaging in appropriate levels of physical activity may help reduce the severity of hallucinations and mitigate stress among individuals with CBS. The observation that higher levels of physical activity are associated with reduced hallucination burden may help the development of evidence-based management strategies for CBS. Additionally, the finding that physical activity was significantly related to hallucination severity, whereas sleep disruption was not, merits deeper exploration in future research.

Joint Associations Of Meditation And Physical Activity With Depression And Anxiety Symptoms In Us Adults: Nhis 2022, Yubing Wang

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Objectives

Physical activity and meditation may each relate to mental health, but their joint associations in U.S. adults are unclear. We examined the separate and joint associations of any past-year meditation and meeting physical activity (PA) guidelines with depression and anxiety symptoms.

Method

We analyzed data from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey Sample Adult file (n = 24,927). Exposures were meeting PA guidelines, any past-year meditation, and their four-level combination (Neither, PA only, Meditation only, Both). Outcomes were moderate-to-severe depressive and anxiety symptoms (PHQ-8/GAD-7 >= 10). Survey-weighted modified Poisson models estimated prevalence ratios (PRs), with interaction, sensitivity, and post …

Modeling Joint Visual Attention In Naturalistic Dyadic Interactions, Kuushini Thennakoon, Yasasi Abeysinghe, Bhanuka Mahanama, Vikas Ashok, Sampath Jayarathna

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Joint visual attention (JVA) provides important insight into how individuals coordinate attention during social interaction. Egocentric eye tracking enables the study of JVA in natural, multi-user settings. This work presents a multi-stage framework to identify and analyze JVA using egocentric video and gaze data. The approach consists of three steps: spatiotemporal tube-based visual similarity, gaze-guided object detection, and attention pattern analysis using the ambient–focal coefficient K. Results show that object-focused collaborative activities exhibit high JVA, with object detection capturing higher joint attention than visual similarity, whereas conversation-based or independent activities show lower and more fragmented joint attention. Analysis of K …

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 …

Comparison Of Mental Illness Comorbidity Pre-Pandemic Vs. Pandemic-Era And Associations With Clinical And Demographic Characteristics For Virginia Public Hospital Inpatient Discharges With A Substance Use Disorder, Marilyn Bartholmae, Tharidu Gunawardena

Department of Medicine Faculty Publications

The rise in mental illnesses after the COVID-19 pandemic is well documented. However, it is not known whether the rates of mental illness comorbidity increased. The objectives of this study were to compare mental illness comorbidity rates before and after the pandemic among inpatients with SUD and to test associations between mental illness comorbidity, physical illness, and demographics. We used a retrospective cross-sectional design in a sample of inpatient discharges (N = 233,017) at Virginia public hospitals from January 2018 to December 2022. We used Z tests to compare rates of mental illness comorbidity pre- and post-pandemic and Chi-square tests …

Criterion Validity Of The Functional Status And Pain Assessment Scale Versus Pain And Length Of Stay In Hospitalized Adults With Scd, Wally R. Smith, Daniel M. Sop, Yue May Zhang, Margaret S. Guy, Rehan Qayyum

Department of Medicine Faculty Publications

Objectives

In prior research we demonstrated face, construct, discriminant, and preliminary convergent validity of the newly developed, 10-item Functional Status Pain Assessment (FSPA) scale (0-50) in adult SCD patients hospitalized with VOC. We aimed in this study to further demonstrate criterion validity of the FSPA.

Methods

This was a prospective observational study of 561 daily functional and pain assessments from 91 hospitalized adults with SCD from January 2018 to June of 2019. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) Partial Least Squares (PLS) models determined the relationship between LOS, pain intensity, and FSPA. A Generalized Linear Model (GLM) to quantified the impact of …

Persistent Peristomal Pain Due To An Exposed Cutaneous Nerve, Iain Noel Encarnacion, Kaylin Beiter, Natasha Hakkal, Emily Hejazi, Paul Hernandez, Melissa Laughter, Shannon Nugent, Samir Thaker, Xiaowei Xu, Misha Rosenbach

Department of Medicine Faculty Publications

[Introduction]

Case description

A 25-year-old woman with a history of ulcerative colitis treated with multiple abdominal surgeries complicated by peristomal pyoderma gangrenosum (PPG) presented with severe peristomal pain and ulceration. Treatment course was complicated; disease control was achieved via combination infliximab 10 mg/kg every 4 weeks, corticosteroids (topical triamcinolone 0.1% ointment, intralesional 10 mg/ml injections, and oral prednisone 30 mg daily with a gradual taper), and cyclosporine 125 mg tapering by 25 mg every 3 weeks, ultimately tapered to infliximab monotherapy.

Bridging The Gap Between Counselor Education And Trauma Treatment In Practice: A Phenomenology Of Trauma-Specialized Counselors, Ariel Hutcheon

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Trauma impacts the life experiences of a sizable portion of the population. Given that so many clients bring trauma into counseling, even when not the presenting issue, knowledge of trauma’s impact and proficiency with trauma treatment are essential topics in counselor education. This study gave voice to counselors in the field to share what they have found effective from working with clients with trauma. The researcher used a phenomenological approach and interviewed six self-identified trauma-specialized counselors who have practiced for five years or longer. The data was explicated, and four major themes were identified. The first theme was Inadequate Training: …

Observed Parenting, Parent-Child Aggression, And Intimate Partner Violence As Predictive Of Family Dysfunction, Paige Munshell

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Family systems theories contextualize violence as occurring across multiple levels of the family, yet much of the existing literature focuses on a single family member’s outcome (i.e., the child) and neglects to include data collected from fathers. This study examined the associations between indicators of functioning at the dyadic-level in the family system—observed parenting, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) perpetration, and Parent-Child Aggression (PCA) risk—and later overall family dysfunction. Participants were 180 mothers and 144 of their male partners evaluated when their child was 18 months old and re-evaluated at 4 years old. Measures of observed parenting, IPV perpetration, and PCA …

Identifying Alcohol Intervention-Relevant Constructs For Greek Life: Examining Across Greek Membership And Gender Among College Students, Emily Susan Renzoni

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Among college populations, students who are members of social Greek life organizations (i.e., social fraternities and sororities) drink more and experience higher rates of negative alcohol-related consequences than their non-affiliated peers. Although there has been success of alcohol interventions in general college populations, research has shown that college drinking interventions that are delivered to students in Greek life are not efficacious in reducing alcohol consumption or related consequences. It is meaningful to investigate if the content commonly addressed in these interventions, although well-documented as being linked to drinking in the general college population, has the same associations for students who …

Schema, Stigma, And The “We-Them” Divide: Perspectives On Ageism From Everyday Life To Healthcare, Temple D. West

English Theses & Dissertations

Ageism remains a pervasive and often underexamined form of discrimination, affecting older adults across both everyday and clinical contexts. This paper explores how cognitive schemas—mental frameworks that shape perception and experience—and stigma interact to reinforce a “we–them” divide between and older patients and healthcare providers, as well as between older and younger individuals in broader society. Through focus groups and listening to the voices of older patients, this study examines how assumptions of age-based decline are embedded in society and inform schemas of ageism. It considers how those schemas shape the spoiled identity of older people as a stigmatized group, …

When Nonbinary Becomes Binary: Exploring Transnormativity Experiences Of Gender Diverse Individuals, Yusuf Barburoğlu

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Transnormativity is a within-group framework that positions trans and nonbinary (TNB) individuals in a hierarchy of legitimacy based on adherence to binary gender norms (Johnson, 2016). Nonbinary individuals, who comprise 38% of U.S. transgender adults, face unique challenges, including systemic invalidation, misgendering, and erasure both within and outside LGBTQIA+ communities (James et al., 2024; Matsuno et al., 2024). These experiences intersect with internalized stigma and rejection expectations, contributing to mental health disparities (Budge et al., 2014; Lefevor et al., 2019). This study explores how nonbinary individuals navigate, resist, and embody transnormative pressures, using Sarah Ahmed’s Queer Phenomenology and Interpretative Phenomenological …

Unraveling The Links Between Substance Use And Academic Motivation In Higher Education, Melissa Lynn Goins

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) posits that the quality of students’ motivation regulation (i.e., autonomous versus controlled) shapes both learning and health behavior, yet few studies have examined the relations among motivation regulation, alcohol and cannabis use, and achievement. In this study, I surveyed 459 undergraduates at a mid-sized public university in the southeastern United States. Participants completed the Academic Motivation Scale-College version 28 to assess autonomous and controlled motivation regulation, a typical-week alcohol grid, a seven-day cannabis grid, and self-reported grade point average (GPA). Results indicated that autonomous academic motivation was uniquely related to GPA; however, neither motivation variable related to …

Identity Salience Of Organizational Culture: The Intersection Of Racial And Occupational Identities In High-Risk Professions, Sarah Espinosa

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Despite decades of effort, issues of race and color in organizations remain unresolved. Representative Bureaucracy (RB) has been a necessary but insufficient response to these challenges. While RB promotes diversity and inclusion, it struggles to address deeper issues of equity and justice, which are seen in the persistence of police brutality, even with increased representation of officers of color. This dissertation will propose a new theoretical approach to address the shortcomings of RB, a framework for the Identity Salience of Organizational Culture (ISOC). The ISOC framework seeks to build beyond RB to explain how the culture of high-risk professions with …

Examining Social And Intrapersonal Factors Among Youth Crisis Line Volunteers, Sunday Hull

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Crisis lines provide a free crisis response service that is highly accessible to individuals who are at elevated risk of suicide and may not be otherwise connected with care. In order to best tailor crisis line interventions to youth populations, a number of youth-to-youth crisis lines invite youth callers to connect with trained youth volunteers. While prior research has examined adult crisis lines workers’ experience and well-being and identified key factors that predict positive and negative volunteering outcomes, far less is known about similar determinants of experience and well-being among adolescent volunteers on youth-to-youth crisis lines. The purpose of this …

Making Explanations Make Sense: Xai For Smishing Detection, Eleni Alexandra Katsarakes

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) is a key component of effective human-AI collaboration, particularly in high-stakes domains such as cybersecurity. While AI tools hold promise for mitigating threats such as SMS-based phishing (SMiShing), their real-world effectiveness may hinge not just on detection accuracy, but on whether users can make sense of the system’s outputs. As SMiShing attacks grow in both frequency and sophistication, so does the urgency of designing human-centered AI systems that support user decision-making under uncertainty. This study examined how four distinct AI explanation types - Normative (rule-based), Attributive (feature-based), Exemplar (case-based), and Recommendation-Only - influence user performance, confidence, …

Exploring The Impact Of Identity-Based Bullying On Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviors Among 6th-12th Grade Youth In Virginia, Camille N. Johnson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) are a growing public health concern among youth. Bullying victimization is a robust risk factor for STBs and identity-based bullying (IBB) or bullying that occurs due to a person’s actual or perceived social-identity/identities that is ingrained in discrimination, prejudice, or bias, has been found to be more strongly associated with STBs compared to bullying that was unrelated to identity. The current study used data from the Virginia School Survey of Climate and Working Conditions (N=399,493) to examine associations between general bullying, adult-perpetrated bullying, and IBB with depression and STBs among 6th-12th grade youth. This study …

Book Review: "Take Your Own Advice" By Jeffrey Marsh, Kristy Carlisle

Journal of Human Services Scholarship and Interprofessional Collaboration

This review examines Take Your Own Advice by Jeffrey Marsh as a teaching tool for cultivating ethical presence, mindfulness, and professional identity in human services and counseling education. Grounded in compassion-based, trauma-informed principles, Marsh’s eight guiding rules invite readers to shift from control and perfectionism toward authenticity, acceptance, and values-based living. These concepts directly reflect mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) practices and expound upon self-compassion, boundary awareness, and cultural humility. Through workbook activities, students find ways to practice emotional regulation and ethical reflection. Drawing connections to the Council for Standards in Human Service Education (CSHSE) and Council for …

Dissociation Of Subjective And Objective Measures Of Trust In Vehicle Automation: A Driving Simulator Study, Samuel Petkac, Tetsuya Sato, Kun Xie, Yusuke Yamani

Psychology Faculty Publications

Trust is a crucial factor that influences human-automation interaction in surface transportation. Previous research indicates that participants tend to display higher levels of subjective trust toward lower-level automated systems compared to high-level automated systems. However, administering subjective trust measures via questionnaires can interfere with primary task performance, limiting researchers' ability to measure trust continuously in a real-world manner. In the current driving simulator study, 25 drivers using an advanced driving system (ADS) were randomly assigned to either an active (L2) or passive (L3) automated driving condition. Participants experienced eight near-miss driving scenarios with or without obstructions in a distributed driving …

Understanding Hispanic Cultural Strengths Through Parents’ Voices: Insights For Interdisciplinary School Personnel, David Moran, Johana Rocha, Kristy Carlisle

Journal of Human Services Scholarship and Interprofessional Collaboration

Examining the strengths of Hispanic cultural values among K-12 school students is a generally understudied concept, and from their parents’ perspective specifically. This study sought to take a qualitative approach toward the exploration of Hispanic parents’ perspectives on how their cultural values promote strengths within their school-aged children. Hispanic parents (N = 8) participated in bilingual (i.e., Spanish and English) focus groups, with the results providing content that can inform culturally responsive prevention and intervention strategies to support the roles of interdisciplinary school personnel who regularly interact with the children. Findings pointed to (a) interaction with peers and school …

Two Essays On The Role Of Anthropomorphism In Consumer Behavior, Faegheh (Faa) Taheran

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

The first essay of this dissertation investigates the contradictory findings on the relationship between anthropomorphism and self-control by focusing on how everyday anthropomorphized objects, rather than the products being used for consumption, influence consumer behavior. While previous studies have shown that using anthropomorphized products may decrease consumers’ self-control, this paper examines how unrelated [to consumption] anthropomorphized objects in a consumer’s environment—such as a water bottle with a humanlike face—can evoke a sense of social presence, increasing consumers’ perceptions that they are being negatively evaluated. Drawing on mind perception theory, I propose that this fear of negative evaluation can enhance self-control. …

School Counselor Burnout And Self-Efficacy And Their Impact On The Degree Of Implementation Of A Comprehensive School Counseling Program, Rebecca Pierre-Louis

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

School Counselors are educators who are vital in supporting students’ educational development. School Counselors do this by delivering a comprehensive, developmentally appropriate, and prevention-oriented school counseling programs that provide direct, indirect, and responsive services to support students’ career, academic, and social/emotional development. School Counselors do this while often experiencing an expanded definition of their role within a school building. While research supports the benefits of comprehensive school counseling programs to schools and students, school counselors often face large student caseloads. As well, they are tasked with many non-school counseling duties, which hampers the delivery of a comprehensive school counseling program. …

Testing An Ironic Process Model Of Emotion Expression In Daily Life, Laura B. Kenneally

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Expressive suppression, or suppressing the expression of an emotion, is a common emotion regulation approach that has been found to have substantial negative implications for one’s mental health, physical health, and relationship functioning. However, expression of emotion, and of negative emotion in particular, has not consistently been found to be beneficial for mood or relationships. Moreover, the social expression of emotion that is culturally valued among Black-identifying Americans is different in White-identifying Americans, particularly in regard to expression of negative affect. However, it is unknown whether this cultural context mitigates the potential consequences of expressive suppression and emotion expression.

Expressive …