Psychology Commons^™

Mitigating Negative Perceptions Due To Gender Norm Violation Through Adherence To Another Prevalent Gender Norm, Kelsey Drea

Master's Theses

In many cultures, the tradition of women adopting their husband’s surname is long-standing. This behavior became an established custom with English women around the 11^th and 12^th centuries (Embleton and King, 1984). In the United States, this practice was inherited from English common law, wherein a wife’s legal identity was considered tied to that of her husband’s. Despite the pervasiveness of such customs in naming conventions in Western cultures, recent social movements intended to foster greater parity between the sexes have led many women to defy this tradition and legally keep their own surname following marriage (MacClintock, 2010). …

Proposed Subtypes Of Anger Rumination: Brooding And Reflection And Their Associations With Aggression, Fayth Walbridge

Master's Theses

Rumination maintains, exacerbates, and is related to several maladaptive outcomes including negative affect (e.g., sadness, anger), symptoms of depression, and aggression in samples of nonclinical and clinical populations across developmental periods (e.g., McLaughlin & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2011; Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991; Nolen-Hoeksema, 1996; Thomsen, 2006; Peled & Moretti, 2007; Yang, et. al., 2014). Recently, the construct of sadness rumination has been conceptualized as two distinct subtypes, reflection and brooding (Treynor, Gonzalez, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2003). Brooding is considered maladaptive because feelings and situations are viewed through a negativistic lens and reflection is viewed as adaptive and uses a problem-solving approach (Lopez, 2010; Burwell & …

The Effects Of Using Behavioral Skills Training In Teaching Non-Aba Professionals To Implement Discrete Trial Training: A Meta-Analysis, Lindsey Bernard

Master's Theses

This quantitative meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of behavioral skills training (BST) for training non-applied behavior analysis (ABA) professionals to implement discrete trial training (DTT), as well as examining the methodological rigor of these studies using WWC design standards. Results indicate that BST produces large effects and the majority of studies either met design standards with reservations or met design standards. As a result, researchers and practitioners may be optimistic that BST is an effective approach to training non-ABA professionals to implement DTT.

Effects Of Adolescent Motivation And Personality On Adherence And Success In A Voluntary Residential Bootcamp Program, Lydia Sigurdson

Master's Theses

The Youth ChalleNGe Program is a voluntary program for adolescents who have dropped out of high school and is intended to address various needs of at-risk youth. As a result, individuals are motivated to enroll for an array of reasons. Though prior research on the Youth ChalleNGe Program has sought to identify individual factors that determine program outcomes, no study has considered motivation for enrollment as a predictor of program success. Further, personality traits related to goal setting and self-regulation may impact the relationship between motivation and program outcome. Archival data was gathered from 710 participants in the Youth ChalleNGe …

Facts From Fiction: Packaging Misinformation, Angel Ray Houts

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous research established that readers learn both accurate and inaccurate information from fictional stories. The current study explored factors that might moderate the impact of misinformation. Participants read fictional stories that contain three assertions; the first two were labeled as set-up assertions, and the last were labeled as the critical assertion. First, there was a manipulation of plausibility of information within the stories by presenting either assertions with truthful information, assertions with small lies (plausible misinformation), or assertions with big lies (implausible misinformation). Second, there was manipulation of reliability of the fictional stories by presenting big lies or truthful information …

The Effectiveness Of A Transaffirmative Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Group-Based Intervention To Help Transgender Individuals Suffering From Depression, Joy Riach

Doctoral Dissertations

Transgender individuals report higher levels of elevated symptoms of depression and anxiety due to psychological distress caused by pervasive transphobic discrimination and prejudice that persist in pathologizing and stigmatizing their lived experiences. An important first step would be to develop, implement, and assess transaffirmative interventions that address the mental health issues that this population is particularly susceptible to, such as depression. This current study was designed to assess the effectiveness of one such culturally adapted intervention, which was a 5-week-long, group-based therapy developed for treating depression in transgender individuals using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This was then followed with one …

The Relationship Between Parental Personality, Attachment, And Subjective Well-Being, Mia Nguyen

Psychology | Senior Theses

Parents play a critical role in helping children develop into happy and well-adjusted adults. Factors such as secure attachment, parental rearing behaviors, and parental personality all interact to create a developmental context that impacts a child’s experience. Attachment between parent and child, for instance, is the foundation of later relationships in life. However, a variety of other parent factors including parental rearing behaviors and parenting style can influence attachment (Roelofs et al., 2006). Parenting styles that are nurturing, authoritative, and emotionally involved have not only demonstrated more secure attachments in children but have also been reflective of parents who score …

The Relationship Between Classroom Variables And Academic Achievement Across The Preschool Year, Olivia M. Leblanc

Honors Theses

Preschool education is designed to foster social, cognitive, and academic gains for three- to five-year-old children before they enter kindergarten. Preschool education provides three- to five-year-old children with opportunities to participate in structured educational activities and to interact with groups of peers. The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between specific elements of successful preschool classrooms and student outcomes across the preschool year utilizing data from 125 preschool classrooms in the Midwest. Controlling for demographic information, it was found that the implementation of social-emotional learning was significantly positively correlated with the development of self-regulation and literacy abilities, and increased …

Effects Of Patient’S Race On Pain Perception And Treatment In Nursing Students, Christian J. Phillips

Honors Theses

This study investigates whether a patients’ race affects how nursing students evaluate the patient’s pain. Undergraduate and graduate nursing students (N = 117) recruited from the University of Southern Mississippi School of Nursing were presented with a clinical vignette detailing a 35-year-old man in the emergency department presenting with extreme left shoulder pain. They were randomly assigned to either a Black or a White patient condition. The patient’s race was revealed through an attached photograph, with each condition represented by one of eight unique photographs. Participants evaluated the patient’s current pain level and time to be triaged; the patient’s …

The Role Of Parenting Practices In Adolescent Aggression And Impulsivity, Elizabeth G. Payne

Honors Theses

Parents have an influential role in adolescent development. Previous findings have found a relationship between parenting practices and adolescent behavioral problems. The purpose of this study was to analyze different parenting practices’ influence on impulsive and aggressive behaviors in adolescents. This study uses data gathered from a unique population of at-risk adolescents from a military-style bootcamp who were asked about their parents’ behaviors and their own behaviors. Findings from this study expand upon previous research on parenting practices by analyzing a specific population of at-risk youth and looking at specific forms of impulsive and aggressive behaviors. Data was collected through …

An Investigation On The Relationship Between Religious Coping Styles And Death Anxiety, Hailey Bates

Honors Theses

This study evaluated the respective relationships between death anxieties and religious coping, of both the positive and negative variety. Two independent samples were collected included the Multidimensional Orientation Toward Dying and Death Inventory (MODDI-F) and the Religious Coping Scale (R-COPE). This data supported the hypothesis by confirming a positive correlation between negative religious coping and Fear of Death. In other words, more death anxious participants also reported more questioning of their faith and their relationship with God in response to stress. In contrast, positive religious coping shared no significant correlations with any death anxiety variables. Because of the clear relationship …

A Systematic Review Of Factors That Impact College Student Stress, Cailyn Papp

Honors Theses

Over the past few years, the effects of college student stress have received increased attention. Even so, there is still no unified model for addressing and understanding its impact. The purpose of this study was to systematically review and analyze the literature on college student stress to discover what factors have the most impact on it. A literature search using EBSCOhost yielded 20 eligible articles to include in this research. The results of this study demonstrate a need for a more unified model of college student stress. Further, results identify the factors that significantly influence college student stress and highlight …

Effect Of Natural Environment Training And Discrete Trial Training On Adaptive Behaviors, Amelia Yanchik

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Rising numbers in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnoses lead to concerns about resources and personnel to support these children in home and school settings. Early intervention and ABA therapy has been demonstrated to show the most beneficial outcomes for children diagnosed with ASD (Peters-Scheffer et al., 2011, Eikeseth et al., 2007). The literature has yet to review the differential effects Natural Environment Training (NET) and Discrete Trial Training (DTT) on adaptive skills. A sample of 110 children diagnosed with ASD or a Developmental Disorder between the ages of 16 and 35 months was collected. The participants either received DTT, NET, …

“Sticks And Stones”: Experiencing Microaggressions From The Perspectives Of The Victim, Bystander, And Perpetrator, Emily Halvorson

Honors Theses

For over thirty years, microaggressions have been studied for their weight on members of groups like ethnic and racial minorities, women and members of the LGBTQ community. Microaggressions are the routine, derogatory interactions like slights gestures, snubs or minor insults. Microaggressions yield physical and psychological distress to victims and communicate to marginalized groups the biases and prejudices against them harbored by majority group members. My thesis study explored factors such as quality of psychical and psychological health, physical health symptoms, occurrence of physical pain, resilience, and self efficacy and relationships with racial, gender, and sexual orientation-based microaggressions. I analyzed these …

Factors Impacting The Decision To Report Sexual Assault: A Qualitative Study, Sarah Swaney

Honors Theses

The present study aims to understand the reasons behind a survivor’s decision to report or not report their experience(s) of sexual assault and identify themes involved in the decision-making process. While there are numerous quantitative studies that examine the factors around a survivor's decision to report or not report their sexual assault account(s), the qualitative perspective on this topic is lacking among the literature. Using a qualitative approach, the purpose of this study seeks to answer the following research question: what factors influence sexual assault survivors' decision to report or not report their experience? We hypothesized that individuals who reported …

Isolating Abortion Stigma From Women Who Have Had Abortions: A Look At Undergraduate Students At A Christian University, Mikayla Granger

Senior Honors Theses

Abortion has been subject to stigma due to violating cultural ideals of womanhood, sexism, attribution of personhood to the fetus, legal restrictions, perception as a dirty procedure, the pro-life community, being underreported, and religious beliefs. In order to cope with stigma-induced distress, individuals often resort to secrecy. Stigmatized women concealing their abortion may suppress thoughts about the abortion, leading them to suffer from obsessive and intrusive thoughts that repeatedly reappear simply because they are unwanted. Because of this harmful cycle, it is imperative that individuals understand the distinction between stigma towards abortion and post-abortive women. The current study examines the …

Religiosity, Outgroup Contact, Postconventional Religious Reasoning, And Their Associations With Christians' Prejudice Against Sexual And Gender Minorities., Lucas Huckaby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the last few decades there has been a resurgence of work investigating topics around religion and spirituality (R/S), with the majority of the literature demonstrating associations with positive outcome variables. However, R/S factors have also shown significant relationships with some negative outcomes, most notably prejudice towards sexual and gender minorities (SGM). Following the call of researchers, this study investigates the hypothesized positive relationship between postconventional religious reasoning (PRR), defined as an individual’s ability to engage in critical thinking around R/S ideas while also demonstrating increased perspective-taking, along with other known covariates of prejudice against SGM (religiosity, outgroup contact) to …

Electrophysiological Measures Of Context Updating Along The Schizophrenia Spectrum, Rachel J. Mcclure

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Objective: Schizotypy is conceptualized on the spectrum of schizophrenia spectrum, but is seldom studied with schizophrenia. We investigated whether individuals endorsing schizotypy traits exhibit P300 amplitude and power more similar to deficits in those with schizophrenia or more similar to healthy controls. Method: Participants consisted of 109 individuals, 63 females, ages 18 to 64, (M = 30.98 years, SD = 9.9 years). P300 was elicited with an auditory oddball task, and peak amplitude & latency as well as power within the peak window within the delta, theta, alpha, beta & gamma frequencies were calculated. Schizophrenia symptom severity was measured using …

Providing Trauma-Informed Care For Children In The Foster Care System, Hannah Genn

Senior Honors Theses

Foster parents need to be trained in trauma-informed approaches and how to identify previous traumas in order to understand how their foster children’s past experiences of abuse or neglect manifest as mental disorders, social challenges, or behavioral concerns. Warning signs for depression or post-traumatic stress disorder should be noted, and youth should be taught how to foster healthy relationships in order to prevent substance abuse, irresponsible sexual activity, or academic failing. Foster parents can provide additional support by creating reasonable expectations for their foster children, teaching effective coping skills, and connecting with available resources.

Black Men Wanted: An Instrumental Case Study Exploring The Situational Factors Related To The Retention Of African American Male High School Teachers., Christopher Kevin Flores

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the nation’s high school student population becomes increasingly diverse, the declining number of minority teachers, particularly African American male teachers is becoming an area of concern. This instrumental case study of African American male high school teachers in the Fayette County Public School system in Lexington, Kentucky sought to identify the motivations for teaching, the barriers prior to and during teaching, as well as the roles these individuals are asked to fulfill in their schools. Using purposeful sampling, 10 individuals participated in semi-structured interviews aimed at providing insight to the three research questions related to motivations, barriers, and roles. …

The Relation Between Socioeconomic Status And Neuroanatomy Of Language Regions In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Lauren Tra

Senior Honors Theses

Socioeconomic status (SES) is defined as a multifaceted index of a person’s financial resources, education, and relative social status and is dictated by parental education, income, and occupation. SES has been known to impact neurocognitive abilities, such as language acquisition and development through distal systems, which includes variations in household income and education. These systems in turn affect language regions in the brain due to disparities in word exposure, exposure to chronic stress, and disparities in the exposure of varying complexity of words, causing language deficits. Language deficits are a core feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and several studies …

Relationship Of Early Life Maltreatment To Self Regulation During An Affective Stroop Task, Sophie Tonjes

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Background: Previous research has found that childhood maltreatment is associated with emotional regulation difficulties, as well associations with brain structures, such as the amygdala and hippocampus. However, there are individual differences in the effect of maltreatment on emotional regulation, and this relationship may be dependent upon amygdala or hippocampal volume. The present study hypothesized that amygdala or hippocampal volume would moderate the relationship between maltreatment and emotional regulation. Method: Forty-nine college students were assessed for their history of parenting and participated in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study. Moreover, to measure emotional regulation skills, participants completed the Affective Stroop task, …

Power, Privilege, And Fraternity Men's Perceptions Of Sex And Sexual Violence: A Phenomenological Study, Justine Diener O'Leary

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Sexual violence is a prevalent concern on college campuses (see Washington Post & Kaiser Family Foundation, 2015; Cantor et al., 2015). Men are the primary perpetrators of sexual violence (Black et al., 2011), with particular groups, such as fraternity men, particularly prone to perpetrating sexual violence (Foubert et al., 2007). The CDC (2014, 2021) recommends utilizing a social-ecological model of prevention that address risk factors at four levels: individual, relational, community, and societal. The purpose of the present transcendental phenomenological pilot study was to explore fraternity men’s perceptions of systemic influences on sex, consent, and sexual violence. Utilizing a modified …

Exploring Supervisor Experiences Of Hope In Clinical Supervision: A Phenomenological Approach, Robert Byrom Jr.

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Supervisory experiences have been identified as one of the primary resources for the clinical training of psychotherapists with respect to both the development of necessary skills and the ability to cope with encountered difficulties. This phenomenological study explored the experiences of clinical supervisors in a current supervisory relationship with one or more supervisees. Specifically, this study explored how supervisors experience their supervisory relationships, how supervisors conceptualize hope as it relates to supervision, how supervisors express hope for their supervisees, and how supervisors promote hope within supervision. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with between 3 to 15 individuals recruited from counseling psychology …

Attachment Injury-Related Responses From The Offending Partner And Forgiveness In Romantic Relationships, Shruti Pillai

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Attachment injuries in romantic relationships carry the potential for several negative outcomes for the injured partner, the offending partner, and the relationship. Forgiveness can serve to repair the damage caused by such an injury. The concept of forgiveness, however, has predominantly only been studied as the responsibility of and of primary interest to the injured partner. There is a growing need for closer examination of what the offending partner can do to promote forgiveness. The Attachment Injury Resolution Model (AIRM) proposes eight distinct steps including actions for each partner that can lead a couple towards recovery. This study examined the …

Metacognitive Function In Moderate To Severe Traumatic Brain Injury, Grace Amadon

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury to the brain caused by a bump, blow, jolt to the head. Individuals with TBI demonstrate decreased awareness of their own potential deficits and functional abilities. These deficits have critical implications for recovery as self-awareness is important for those recovering from TBI in the implementation and engagement of rehabilitative processes after TBI. The following study analyzed 18 individuals with TBI approximately 11 years post injury to document metacognitive functioning after injury. Participants completed a metacognitive working-memory paradigm where they made judgements of their future and past performance on identifying a target shape and …

Prospective Predictors Of Receiving Disclosures Of Intimate Partner Violence And Sexual Assault Among College Students, Christina M. Dardis, Katie R. Davin, Lindsey M. Rodriguez, Emily R. Dworkin, Katie M. Edwards, Sarah E. Ullman, Emily A. Waterman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objective: Previous research has indicated that many undergraduates receive disclosures of sexual assault and intimate partner violence (IPV) from their peers; however, much of this research has been cross-sectional. The present study assessed the extent to which demographic characteristics and victimization history predicted whether participants received disclosures over the subsequent 6 months. Directional hypotheses assessed whether psychological symptoms and attitudes predicted, or were consequences of, disclosures at follow-up.

Method: College students (n = 867) from a broader treatment intervention study completed pretest (Time 1) and 6-month follow-up surveys (Time 2).

Results: Individuals who reported new disclosures at follow-up (56%) were …

Effects Of Repeated Nicotine Vapor Exposure And Withdrawal On Somatic Signs, Anxiety-Like Behavior, And Brain Reward Thresholds In Male Sprague Dawley Rats, Michelle Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Relationships Between School Counselor Ratios And Student Outcomes In One Predominantly Hispanic Texas School District, Myra Ortega

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Research has demonstrated that lower school counselor ratios are associated with better student outcomes: attendance, discipline and achievement. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a student-counselor ratio of 250:1 to best support and address the needs of students. However, student-counselor ratios are much higher, diminishing the effectiveness of school counselors.The purpose of this study is to determine if school counselor ratios are related to campus attendance, campus State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) or End-of-Course (EOC) testing performance, and campus discipline for substance use or other reasons, while considering the ethnicity and gender of students in each …

The Association Of Allostasis With Alcohol Use Disorders: A Case-Control Study, Carlos Portillo, Jr.

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background. Allostatic load (AL) is defined as the wear and tear on the body and the brain that can predispose one to disease due to the effects of the prolonged and/or constant activation of biological systems over time. The primary aim of the current study was to determine the relationship between an index of AL with having been diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder.Methods. The current study is a secondary data analysis of case control data obtained from a sample of men with alcohol use disorder (AUD; n = 48) who were abstinent for a period of two to four …