Psychology Commons^™

Depression And Socioeconomic Status In West Virginians, Brittany N. Phillips, Amy Alvarez

Mountaineer Undergraduate Research Review

Abstract

The researchers conducted this study in order to determine the relationship between depression and the different socioeconomic statuses in West Virginians. A survey was posted to various social media accounts as well as a classroom forum and data was collected from thirty three individuals who had a permanent residence in West Virginia. A variation of the Depression Test gathered from Mental Health America was used in the study with added questions regarding socioeconomic status as well as descriptive questions, both of which were summed individually and the data was compared using SPSS. Researchers hypothesized that higher depression rates would …

The Role Of Functional Disability And Social Support In Psychological Outcomes For Individuals With Pediatric Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Keely Huntley Bieniak

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Objectives: Individuals with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), a genetic condition that impacts a person’s connective tissues, report a large number of physical symptoms including chronic pain, fatigue, gastrointestinal dysfunction, and joint dislocations. Research into the psychosocial outcomes of this condition remains insufficient, especially for pediatric patients. The present study aims to fill this research gap by examining the relationship between functional disability, social support, and mental health outcomes for individuals with pediatric hEDS. We hypothesize that increased functional disability will be associated with increased mental health challenges, specifically anxiety and depression. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that this relationship will be …

Contextualizing Teacher-Directed Violence In Special Education, Kayleigh E. Zinter

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Violence in school settings is a global phenomenon. Research tends to focus on peer-to-peer student aggression, however teacher-directed violence in school settings by various aggressors is also being explored to better understand the scope of school violence (Bounds & Jenkins, 2016; McMahon et al., 2014; Ozdemir, 2012; Sundaram, 2016; Werthein, 2003; Zeira et al., 2004). Few studies have focused on special education teacher experiences with violence, and their differing experiences from their general education counterparts. This mixed-methods study examines the extent to which general and special education teachers experience teacher-directed violence, as well as incorporates an ecological lens to contextualize …

Delay Discounting And Food Reinforcement In Youth Of Color: A Cluster Analysis, Bernardo Loiacono

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Pediatric obesity within the United States continues to be national health concern. Children of color are systemically impacted by obesity. Behavioral Economics (BE) provides a theoretical framework for understanding what social, psychological, and cultural factors impact decision making and food consumption. BE posits that poor executive control (i.e., impulsivity) and relative reinforcing value of food (RRV_food) are two main behavioral components that predict consumption habits. These constructs are poorly understood among children from non-white backgrounds. The current study aimed to 1) identify patterns of impulsivity and food reinforcement within a diverse sample of 88 elementary school children and …

Identifying The Strategic Core Of Interactive Teams, Morgan Elizabeth Gleason

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines how the strategic core of interactive teams can be identified and examined using interactive process data. The IOP literature suggests that certain key members contribute more to team outcomes than others (Barker, 1993; Sparrowe et al., 2001). Key members of a team comprise a “strategic core,” encountering more job-relevant tasks and problems, thereby contributing more to team performance (Barker, 1993). This research used manually coded passing data from 1,309 games of the 2016-2017 National Basketball Association (NBA) season and player statistics reported by the NBA to examine the structure of the strategic core of basketball teams based …

Theory Of Mind, Social Relationship Perception And Stigma Experiences In Individuals At Clinical High-Risk For Psychosis, Francesca Maria Crump

Theses and Dissertations

The clinical high-risk (CHR) state for psychosis has been established in order to prevent the transition to full psychosis; however, demonstrates a high false positive rate (Fusar-Poli et al., 2012). Consequently, many CHR individuals may face increased labeling and symptom-related stigmatization through accessing early intervention services (Yang et al., 2015). As a result, CHR individuals may employ negative coping responses (Link et al., 1989) and exhibit increased social preoccupation in order to help conceal their mental health status (Link et al., 2015), which may hinder social cognitive ability and have lasting impacts on social functioning. This study aimed to delineate …

Reading Your Face: Do I Know Enough To Interpret How You Feel?, Youlim Kim

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined how individuals’ self-construal impacted their recognition accuracy and confidence in interpretation. Previous findings suggest that individuals with independent self-construal perceive the individual as a causal agent of emotion; however, individuals with interdependent self-construal believe that emotional expression is used to communicate with others. Hence, interdependent people perceive the situation as a causal agent of emotion expression. The present study assessed if self-construal influences people’s needs for contextual information when making emotional judgments. Participants (N = 242) were randomly assigned to either an independence-primed or interdependence-primed condition. Within the priming condition, participants additionally looked at 4 pictures …

Influence Of Ethnic-Racial Similarities And Ethnic-Racial Support On Student Well-Being: The Role Of Natural Mentors, Yesenia Garcia

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

According to Rhodes’ model of youth mentoring, one of the ways through which positive outcomes are achieved is through identity development. This study considered ethnic-racial identity (ERI) in the lives of college students of color and how that identity is promoted through natural mentoring relationships. The focus of this study was on ethnic-racial private regard, a component of ERI. This study examined: (a) the associations among mentor ethnic-racial similarity and support and student ERI and (b) the relationships among mentor ethnic-racial similarity and support and student psychological well-being. The sample included 266 college students of color who completed an online …

The Association Between Community-Level Factors And Police Decisions To Found Sexual Assault Cases, Erin Elizabeth Hoffman

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Attrition rates in sexual assault cases remain high despite reforms over the past 30 years (Smith et al., 2018). Evidence suggests the locus of case attrition lies with police decision-making (Spohn & Tellis, 2019). Community-level factors may improve or bias police decisions in sexual assault cases; however, this has yet to be examined. Thus, the purpose of this study was to understand community-level factors that predict police decisions to found a sexual assault case. Founding is the first decision officers make and determines whether a case will be investigated. This study used official available records of sexual assaults reported to …

Life After The Storm: An Examination Of Bereavement And Posttraumatic Growth Among Urban Adolescents, Keturah Jedidah Platt

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The loss of a loved one due to death can be one of life’s most painful and traumatic experiences. During this challenging period, individuals are more prone to developing physical and emotional health problems. Even though these difficulties should be fully acknowledged, it is important to also acknowledge the possibility of posttraumatic growth (PTG) following bereavement. PTG refers to the positive psychological changes that may occur as a result of highly stressful events and circumstances. These changes include growth in the following five areas: (a) New Possibilities, (b) Relating to Others, (c) Appreciation of Life, (d) Personal Strength, and (e) …

Identifying A Typology Of Homelessness Based On Self-Sufficiency: Implications For Rapid Re-Housing Interventions, Quinmill Lei

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Aims: There is limited research on the characteristics of individuals experiencing homelessness

who achieve positive housing outcomes in rapid re-housing (RRH) interventions. This study

aimed to identify a typology of homelessness based on Self-Sufficiency Matrix (SSM) domains

and examine its relation to sociodemographic characteristics and housing placement in RRH.

Methods: Homeless Management Information System data, including sociodemographics, SSM

domains, and housing outcomes, were obtained for 261 Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program participants in Indianapolis, IN.

Results: Latent class analysis revealed three subgroups based on SSM domains. Latent class

regression found the subgroups were significantly associated with race and significantly …

“If You Didn’T Mean It, Why Did I Feel It?”: Comparing The Effects Of Deliberate Vs. Unintentional Ostracism, Andrea L. Sanders

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Ostracism is a form of social exclusion characterized primarily by the experience of being ignored in a social situation. Ostracism is psychologically significant not only because it separates us from desirable social interactions but also because it provides information about how others view us. Investigations of seemingly deliberate ostracism have consistently shown that exclusion threatens people’s sense of self; yet little research directly compares how consequences differ when people believe they were excluded deliberately versus unintentionally. Across five studies, we explored whether the ostracizer’s perceived intent to exclude affected participants sense of self and their subsequent thoughts, feelings and behaviors. …

A Life Course Person-Centered Approach To Adult Trauma Histories And Examination Of Intergenerational Trauma In Preschoolers, Jessica Annabel Arizaga

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

This study seeks to address gaps in intergenerational trauma research by focusing on a predominantly Latine and racially minoritized sample, applying Life Course Theory concepts to the measurement of trauma exposure among parents, and using person-centered methods to uncover trauma typologies (subgroups with similarly patterned trauma histories). Participants were 143 parents (91 primary caregivers and 52 secondary caregivers, of which 42 were fathers) and their preschool age children (n = 91; 51.1% boys) recruited from three Head Start Programs in the Chicagoland Area (65.65% of families had low household incomes). Five distinct trauma typologies were found through Latent …

A Comprehensive Investigation Of Social Status Insecurity In Adolescents, Yunyi Long

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Surrounded by peers who pay increasing attention to social status, adolescents may experience growing concerns about their standing among peers such as feeling that their status being threatened by others or being not as high as they want. These types of social status related concerns are referred to as social status insecurity (SSI; Li, Wang, Wang, & Shi, 2010). Although SSI is a relatively new research topic, a few pioneering studies have found the presence of this issue among adolescents in different cultures and have identified some negative impacts of SSI on adolescents’ behavioral development, such as increased use of …

Social Status Insecurity And Body Image Related Health Outcomes: Testing A Moderated Mediation Model, Mingqi Li

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Body dissatisfaction has been found to be associated with a wide range of maladjustment outcomes and negative behavioral consequences. To identify the sources leading to body dissatisfaction, the present study proposed that an aspect of social cognition specifically regarding peer status, known as social status insecurity, may function as a precursor of body dissatisfaction. This study further examined the associations between social status insecurity and body-image-related health outcomes by focusing on the mediation effects of body dissatisfaction in a sample of 308 Chinese adolescents (117 girls, 191 boys). Furthermore, this study examined whether these mediation processes were moderated by social …

Role Shifting In Organizational Teams: Grounded Theory And Scale Development, Tatem H. Burns

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Organizations utilize teams to effectively reach desired goals and performance. An approach to understanding organizational team effectiveness has been through research on team member roles, which refer to the consistent pattern of behavior characteristic of a person in their typical team setting. Research on team member roles has focused on the ability of team members to shift their roles in response to external catalysts (e.g., adapting to a new reward structure); however, research has yet to address internal catalysts to team role shifting (e.g., shifting to reduce role dissatisfaction). The inclusion of research on internal catalysts to team role shifting …

Editorial: Children’S Competencies Development In The Home Learning Environment, Frank Niklas, Caroline Cohrssen, Simone Lehrl, Amy R. Napoli

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

No abstract provided.

Reducing Prejudice Through Law: Evidence From Experimental Psychology, Roseanna Sommers, Sara Burke

Law & Economics Working Papers

Can antidiscrimination law effect changes in public attitudes toward minority groups? Could learning, for instance, that employment discrimination against people with clinical depression is illegal cause members of the public to be more accepting toward people with mental health conditions? In this Article, we report the results of a series of experiments that test the effect of inducing the belief that discrimination against a given group is legal (vs. illegal) on interpersonal attitudes toward members of that group. We find that learning that discrimination is unlawful does not simply lead people to believe that an employer is more likely to …

Victims In The Dark Shadows: A Model Of Toxic Leadership. Journal Of Organizational Psychology, Daryl Watkins, Steven Walker

Publications

Walker and Watkins (2020) conducted a thematic analysis of the lived experiences of 130 oppressed followers of toxic leaders. The current paper presents a new model of toxic leadership that emerged from the study. Toxic leadership is a phenomenon sanctioned by the organization, perpetuated by the toxic leader, and lived by the oppressed follower. The model situates toxic leadership within an open organizational frame with recommendations for organizational leaders to drive toxic leadership out of their organizations, for leaders to recognize their toxic behaviors, and for followers to cope with toxic leaders.

The Heterogeneity Of Selective Mutism: A Primer For A More Refined Approach, Christopher A. Kearney, Melanie Rede

Psychology Faculty Research

Selective mutism is a persistent and debilitating psychiatric disorder in which a child fails to speak in situations where speaking is expected. Although listed as an anxiety disorder, the multifaceted and heterogeneous nature of selective mutism indicates that a more accurate conceptualization may be as a neurodevelopmental disorder. This article serves as a primer of historical and clinical presentations, empirical clinical profiles, clinical distinctions, assessment, and treatment related to the complexity of selective mutism. The article includes a brief discussion of selective mutism within a developmental psychopathology perspective with an eye toward reformed efforts for prevention, assessment, and treatment regarding …

Socially Responsible Children: A Link Between School Climate And Aggression And Victimization, Josafa M. Da Cunha, Kendra J. Thomas, Paweena Sukhawathanakul, Jonathan Santo, Bonnie Leadbeater

Psychology Faculty Publications

Positive perceptions of school climate are associated with lower frequency of peer victimization and aggression in children. Understanding how school climate influences aggression and victimization is essential to guiding school-level interventions to enhance character strengths such as social responsibility. In this short-term longitudinal study, we test a theoretical model arguing that children’s social responsibility mediates the links between their positive perceptions of school climate (comprised of authoritative disciplinary classroom structure, classroom support, and teachers’ use of social–emotional learning [SEL] strategies) and changes in their reports of victimization and aggression, in a sample of Brazilian students in Grades 4 and 5 …

Development Of The Infant Gut Microbiome Predicts Temperament Across The First Year Of Life, Molly Fox, S. Melanie Lee, Kyle S. Wiley, Venu Lagishetty, Curt A. Sandman, Jonathan P. Jacobs, Laura M. Glynn

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Perturbations to the gut microbiome are implicated in altered neurodevelopmental trajectories that may shape life span risk for emotion dysregulation and affective disorders. However, the sensitive periods during which the microbiome may influence neurodevelopment remain understudied. We investigated relationships between gut microbiome composition across infancy and temperament at 12 months of age. In 67 infants, we examined if gut microbiome composition assessed at 1–3 weeks, 2, 6, and 12 months of age was associated with temperament at age 12 months. Stool samples were sequenced using the 16S Illumina MiSeq platform. Temperament was assessed using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R). Beta …

Do They See A Half-Full Water Cooler? Relationships Among Group Optimism Composition, Group Performance, And Cohesion, William P. Jimenez, Xiaoxiao Hu, Chad Kenneally, Feng Wei

Psychology Faculty Publications

In the present study, relationships among group composition of trait optimism (the mean, standard deviation, and minimum and maximum scores of optimism), group cohesion, and three group performance variables (task performance, contextual performance, and creative performance) were examined. Multi-source data were collected from 56 workgroups including 202 group members and 56 group leaders. We found that the mean, maximum, and minimum operationalizations of group optimism composition were positively related to the three group performance variables and that group cohesion mediated the optimism–performance relationships for the mean and minimum operationalizations of group optimism. We recommend that practitioners generally consider selecting optimistic …

Aproximaciones Al Duelo Migratorio De Los Venezolanos Residentes En La Ciudad De Medellín, Colombia: Un Estudio Cualitativo, Katy L. Millán Otero Srita, Nicolasa M. Duran Palacio Dra, Liliana M. Castaño Cano Srita

The Qualitative Report

El éxodo de los migrantes venezolanos a Colombia se ha convertido un tema presente en la agenda pública nacional e internacional. Esta investigación buscó aproximarse a la experiencia de los duelos migratorios de los venezolanos, específicamente el duelo a la familia y amigos, a la lengua, la cultura, la tierra, el estatus social, el contacto con el grupo étnico y los riesgos para la integridad física. Se enmarcó en el horizonte cualitativo de investigación, bajo el método fenomenológico hermenéutico. Los hallazgos develan que los migrantes presentaban una baja vulnerabilidad al momento de migrar, que, sumado a la cercanía geográfica entre …

Generations In The Workplace, Stephanie Weddington

Umbrella Summaries

What is a generation?

A generation is defined as “a group of individuals, who are roughly the same age, and who experience and are influenced by the same set of significant historical events during key developmental periods in their lives, typically late childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Further, these differences are not attributable solely to an individual’s age but rather to the common influence of shared experiences on the cohort” (Costanza et al., 2012, p. 377). There is general agreement on the labeling of generations (i.e., Silent, Baby Boomer, Generation X, Millennial, Generation Z); however, the date ranges used to …

A Systematic Literature Review Of Sexual Harassment Studies With Text Mining, Amir Karami, Melek Yildiz Spinel, Nicole White, Kayla Ford, Suzanne Swan

Faculty Publications

Sexual harassment has been the topic of thousands of research articles in the 20th and 21st centuries. Several review papers have been developed to synthesize the literature about sexual harassment. While traditional literature review studies provide valuable insights, these studies have some limitations including analyzing a limited number of papers, being time-consuming and labor-intensive, focusing on a few topics, and lacking temporal trend analysis. To address these limitations, this paper employs both computational and qualitative approaches to identify major research topics, explore temporal trends of sexual harassment topics over the past few decades, and point to future possible directions in …

School Violence And Suicidal Ideation: The Mediating Roles Of Perceived School Safety And Substance Use Among Adolescents, Jordan Skalisky

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Substance use and suicidal ideation are prevalent among adolescents. An adolescent’s school environment, such as threatening or violence-related experiences at school, may influence their perceived sense of safety, thus influencing their substance use and potentially increasing suicidal ideation. The current study examined the mediating roles of perceived school safety and substance use (alcohol use, binge alcohol use, cannabis use, and vaping) on the relationship between experienced weapon threat/violence at school and suicidal ideation. Data was used from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey and participants were 13206 adolescents attending high school in the United States. Preliminary analyses indicated significant …

Age-Related Changes In Diffuse Optical Tomography Sensitivity Profiles In Infancy, Xiaoxue Fu, John E. Richards

Faculty Publications

Diffuse optical tomography uses near-infrared light spectroscopy to measure changes in cerebral hemoglobin concentration. Anatomical interpretations of the location that generates the hemodynamic signal requires accurate descriptions of diffuse optical tomography sensitivity to the underlying cortical structures. Such information is limited for pediatric populations because they undergo rapid head and brain development. The present study used photon propagation simulation methods to examine diffuse optical tomography sensitivity profiles in realistic head models among infants ranging from 2 weeks to 24 months with narrow age bins, children (4 and 12 years) and adults (20 to 24 years). The sensitivity profiles changed systematically …

Creative Occupations And The Precipitating Factors Of Burnout, Natasha E. Koval

Honors Projects

Creativity is an intrinsic part of the human life; however, it is one of the most challenging concepts to be understood. In this paper, I am examining occupations driven by creativity, their economic significance, and how sustainable these occupations are for the creative employees. I will be particularly looking at burnout and its precipitating factors as a way to understand the wellness of the creative workforce. Creative occupations, if fostered properly, can lead to job growth, increased income, and potential for investment in vulnerable communities. This makes them valuable resources for urban economic development goals. Literature suggests that there is …

The Many Faces Of Schizophrenia Risk: Can Measures Of Risk Be Aggregated?, Thomas W. O'Kane

Theses and Dissertations

There are currently many different conceptualizations of schizophrenia risk, which we argue is detrimental to any efforts to build a cumulative science in this area. This paper sought to evaluate various conceptualizations of schizophrenia risk and the extent to which they overlap. This paper attempts to identify overlap by utilizing meta-analytic methods in conjunction with data collected from a sample of undergraduate college students (n = 80). To do so, we first collected estimates of various schizophrenia risk measures and risk correlates from the literature. These estimates were subsequently combined with collected data. This paper attempted to analyze review data …