Psychology Commons^™

Childhood Adversity And Alexithymia: Implications For Health Status In An Urban Police Sample, Christopher P. Urbanik

Wayne State University Dissertations

American law enforcement is regarded as one of the most stressful occupations in the United States, involving repeated exposure to threatening or challenging encounters and the risk of severe injury and death. A voluminous literature has documented various psychophysiological implications of police stress, including morbidity and premature mortality. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic stressors during one’s formative years, such as abuse, neglect, and household violence and dysfunction. ACEs have been linked to increased mental and physical health risks, yet ACEs have not been studied in police officers. Given the increase in the level of stress experienced by today’s …

Psychological Resilience Of Entrepreneurs: A Review And Agenda For Future Research, Robert J. Pidduck

Management Faculty Publications

Given that entrepreneurs face substantial adversity in initiating and developing new ventures, a burgeoning stream of research has sought to understand the concept of entrepreneurs’ psychological resilience. To structure and synthesize what we know about entrepreneurs’ psychological resilience, we systematically review the empirical literature to provide insights on how it has been conceptualized and operationalized, along with its key antecedents and outcomes. Based on our review, we advance a promising agenda for future research, grounded in connecting the psychological resilience of entrepreneurs to other research areas connected to the new venture development process. Overall, we point to the urgent need …

Social Support, Self-Esteem, And Levels Of Stress, Depression, And Anxiety During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Candace Ying Tsai

Scripps Senior Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unprecedented disruptions to daily routines and social connections, which negatively impacted the mental health and well-being of many. Unsurprisingly, the most utilized coping strategy during the pandemic involved social support. However, those low in self-esteem seem to question others’ positive regard and continued acceptance, and overall perceive others’ behavior more negatively than those with high self-esteem (Murray, Holmes, et al., 1998). The proposed correlational study will examine the effects of social support and self-esteem on stress, anxiety, and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as investigate whether one’s self-esteem affects the influence that social …

Neo-Emancipatory Sex Education In Germany: Sexual Abuse And Gender Confusion, Bernd Ahrbeck, Karla Etschenberg, Marion Felder

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This article focuses on two related areas of concern with regard to sex education and implications for children and youth in Germany. The first one is the history of the currently dominant neo-emancipatory sexual education and its implications for today. This direction of sex education is highly influenced by theories of Helmut Kentler who with the help of the German city of Berlin youth protection services department sent homeless and troubled boys to known pedophiles for care. This experiment went on for 30 years, ending in 2001. Only now has the extend of this horrific practice been fully discovered. The …

Sorority Women’S Perceptions Of Survivors’ Services And Justice On An Urban Campus, Andrea Giuffre, Elaine Gunnison

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

While researchers have attempted to estimate the prevalence of and identify risk factors for sexual assault, less is understood about the relationship among populations at high risk for sexual assault and their perceptions of survivors’ services organizations and justice. The purpose of this investigation is to contribute to existing research through exploratory qualitative analyses of 43 undergraduate sorority women’s perceptions of survivors’ services and justice on a large, urban campus in the Pacific Northwest in the United States. Results of these exploratory analyses revealed that the sorority women had preferences for informal confidants and services whom they could trust concerning …

Examining The Relationship Between Child Maltreatment, Executive Functioning, And Trauma Appraisal, Myshira Oliver

Dissertations

Problem

A current problem is that although child maltreatment has been demonstrated to be negatively associated with both executive functioning and trauma appraisal (leading to feelings of shame, self-blame, etc.), there is not an established model within the literature that explains the relationship between child maltreatment, executive functioning, and trauma appraisal. The purpose of this study was to develop a model that displayed the relationship between child maltreatment, executive functioning, and trauma appraisal. Additionally, this study sought to discover differences in trauma appraisal and executive functioning based on the type of child maltreatment experienced.

Method

This study employed a quantitative, …

Adverse And Positive Childhood Experiences Of Clinical Mental Health Counselors As Predictors Of Compassion Satisfaction, Burnout, And Secondary Traumatic Stress, Eric M. Brown, Kristy L. Carlisle, Melanie Burgess, Jacob Clark, Ariel Hutcheon

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Despite an emphasis on self-care to avoid burnout and increase compassion satisfaction within the counseling profession, there is a dearth of research on the developmental experiences of counselors that may increase the likelihood of burnout. We examined the impact of mental health counselors’ (N = 140) experiences of adverse childhood experiences and positive childhood experiences on their present rates of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. We used a cross-sectional, non-experimental correlational design and reported descriptive statistics as well as results of multiple regression models. Results indicated significant relationships among counselors’ rates of adverse childhood experiences, positive childhood experiences, …

Assessing The Relationship Between Audience And Sport Performance In Competition During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Noah Perrin

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an environment in sports in which players are performing in the absence of crowds. This study analyzed the performance of 12 teams and 11 players in games played with and without an audience over a period of three years in collegiate basketball. It was expected that in games with crowds, simple tasks (free throws) would be more successful and complex tasks (field goals) would be less successful compared to games without crowds. The second hypothesis predicted that home performances would be better than away performances in seasons with crowds, but there would be no difference …

The Relationship Between Introversion/Extroversion And Covid-19 Health Precautions, Kalie Luckett

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic health precautionary measures taken by individuals is an area of great interest in the field of psychology today because of the immense change to social dynamics, safety practices, and interpersonal relationships that occurred. This study looked at 125 U.S. participants and was able to find correlations between introversion/extroversion and the COVID-related precautions taken by individuals. The hypotheses for the study were supported by the data and introverts were more likely to continue taking health precautions throughout the pandemic, while extroverts in the study were less likely to want to continue to take health and …

The Impact Of Father Involvement And Socioeconomic Status On Child Behavior Problems, Delaney Hansen

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Research has indicated that child behavior is highly influenced by both the quantity and quality of father involvement. Despite the awareness of the important role father’s play, many parenting studies fail to focus on the father-child relationship. Furthermore, lower income families are especially important to examine due to the increased risk of lower father involvement. Identifying sources of resilience in low-income communities is needed. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between father involvement, socioeconomic status and child behavior outcomes. The data was derived from a sample of 52 parent-child dyads recruited from an urban Head …

Momentary Energy Levels In Healthcare Professionals Working With Facility Dogs, Shania Sinha, Clare Jensen, Marguerite O'Haire

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Past research has shown that pediatric healthcare professionals working with full-time therapy dogs (facility dogs) reported less work-related burnout and better mental health overall. However, specific in-the-moment effects of facility dogs on healthcare professionals have yet to be examined. The purpose of this study was to use Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to assess the effects of facility dog presence on momentary energy levels of pediatric healthcare professionals. EMA data for the present study were collected from 122 healthcare professionals working in pediatric hospitals. Within the sample, participants working with a facility dog (handlers; n=61) were …

Mental Health Advocacy For Kids: A Social Media Campaign, B Rangel

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Abstract

Mental health in children has important, life-long effects on the child (Ghandour et al., 2018; Underwood & Washington, 2016). Because it is not always easy for parents to access important mental health resources and information (CDC, 2022b), I wanted to investigate whether social media is a viable way for parents to learn more about their child’s mental health. I created and distributed ads aimed at parents on three common mental illnesses diagnosed in children: anxiety, depression, and ADHD. My ads had high levels of engagement, thus allowing the possibility that social media could be important avenue for reaching parents.

Does Co-Speech Gesture Support Children’S Analogical Reasoning? An Investigation Into The Differential Effects Of Gesture On Learning, Katharine F. Guarino

Dissertations

Although the general consensus is that gesture supports learning across a wide range of learning contexts, nuances to gesture’s effects are found across the gesture-for-learning literature. The purpose of this body of research was to advance our understanding of gesture’s effect on learning. Specifically, we explored the utility of gesture in a domain that had not been considered in the gesture literature previously: analogical reasoning (Study 1). We aimed to understand whether gesture supports children’s analogical reasoning ability and why gesture might support this type of reasoning. Specifically, we investigated whether gesture could support learning through directing visual attention, thereby …

Experiences Of Cultural Disconnectedness Among Bosnian American Diaspora: A Phenomenological Perspective, Azra Osmancevic

Dissertations and Theses

ABSTRACT Diaspora, including immigrants and refugees, undergo various experiences in their new host countries related to cultural identity formation. One of the factors related to cultural identity development within the United States is feeling caught in between two identities, resulting in never truly feeling “here or there” (Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2001). Experiences of cultural disconnectedness have been highlighted among the Bosnian American diaspora in numerous studies over the last two decades. Previous studies briefly described the challenges associated with diaspora balancing their native Bosnian cultures and host American cultures. The current study focused on the gap in the literature by …

Types Of Social Media Use And Adolescent Mental Health, Ashley Bragg

Online Theses and Dissertations

Communication in today’s world is rapidly changing, some suggest for the better, while some suggest it is for the worse. Networking for the adolescent perspective has social media platforms at an all time high. The amount of face-to-face communication between adolescents has been replaced with outlets such as Instagram and Snapchat. Although this is another form of communication, it often faces challenges to whether this outlet is detrimental to the adolescent’s mental health or a positive chance for interacting with peers. Anxiety, depression and fear of missing out (FoMO) are three major mental health concerns that correlate with social media …

Scale Validation Of American Exceptionalism Index, Evan Hunter Charles

Online Theses and Dissertations

A powerful nation that commits reprehensible actions but only holds other countries accountable must be checked, especially if the nation's populace turns a blind eye. This thesis sought to validate a new scale called the American Exceptionalism Index. The current study draws from instruction and examples from academics and professionals who have experience with scale validation – a primer was developed and available to guide future scale development. Following these steps or the inherent purpose behind these steps, the current study seeks to contribute to the American Exceptionalism literature. The current study seeks to validate the American Exceptionalism Index (AEI) …

"I Could Not Understand Anything They Said!": Non-Native English Speaking Instructors, Online Learning, And Student Anxiety, Katelyn Lee Mcclure

Online Theses and Dissertations

Non-native English speaking (NNES) instructors are often rated lower within course evaluations and are typically criticized for their accents (Rubin, 1992; Subtirelu, 2015). Reasonings behind this have not been researched much in terms of online education, though the relevance of this topic is continuing to grow through online learning. The current experiments aim to determine if the presence of an NNES accent causes more learning anxiety compared to an instructor with a standard American accent. Two experiments were conducted to gauge participants’ anxiety level and learning performance. In both experiments, participants were given a set of four videos divided into …

Impact Of Living Learning Communities On Underserved Minority Students At A Regional Comprehensive University, Brandon Leonard Thompson

Online Theses and Dissertations

As access to higher education for underserved minority (USM) students has consistently increased over the past 20 years, college and university campuses across the United States have observed an achievement gap between USM students and their white counterparts (Brown, 2019; Doan, 2015; Flores, Park & Baker, 2017; Pope, 2002; Ramos; 2019). This achievement gap is acute and carries significant consequences if not addressed. As campuses seek to find solutions to close this achievement gap, it is essential to identify strategies that meet the needs of USM students instead of waiting for students to adapt to higher education and campus culture …

Inspiration On Social Media: Applying An Entertainment Perspective To Longitudinally Explore Mental Health And Well-Being, Sophie Janicke-Bowles, Arthur A. Raney, Mary Beth Oliver, Katherine R. Dale, Danyang Zhao, Dominik Neumann, Russell B. Clayton, Alysia A. Hendry

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The conditions under which social media use impacts well-being and mental health are complex. The current 10-day longitudinal quasi-experiment (student sample, N = 111) applied an entertainment theory lens to explore the effects of active posting and engaging with hedonic or inspiring Facebook content (vs. passive browsing) on young people’s eudaimonic well-being (levels of connectedness to humanity, love, compassion, presence of meaning) and mental health (anxiety and depressive symptoms). The results provide tentative evidence that finding and sharing inspiring content to a Facebook group increased love and compassion toward others over time. It also led to more compassion at the …

Lessons From Psychology For Law Practice Management, Peter Glenn

Faculty Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

“Don’T Feel Like You Have To Do This All On Your Own”: Exploring Perceived Partner Support Of Breastfeeding Among Black Women In Kentucky, Jardin Dogan

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Background: Partner support improves breastfeeding initiation and continuation among mothers. However, few studies have explored partner support for breastfeeding among Black women living in the southeastern U.S., who report the lowest rates nationally of breastfeeding compared to women of other racial groups. Ways to increase support of Black women’s breastfeeding may be best understood from an Afrocentric perspective.

Research Aim: This qualitative study aimed to explore perceptions of partner support among Black mothers to abductively develop a culturally relevant framework of partner support to improve their rates of breastfeeding. Our research question was, “What partner support behaviors do Black …

Motivation And Memory: An Analysis Of Performance-Dependent Reward-Based Motivational Effects On Encoding And Retrieval, Joshua D. Wenger

Modern Psychological Studies

Extrinsic reward has been shown to influence memory performance. This study sought to examine the effects of extrinsic reward on the individual processes of encoding/retrieval. Thirty-eight participants were divided into three groups; each underwent a memory task consisting of an encoding phase, filler task, and retrieval phase. The control group did not have an opportunity to receive a reward, unlike the two experimental groups who both had potential to receive a lottery ticket conditional on strong memory performance, although they differed in the times in which they were made aware of the potential reward. An improvement in memory performance primarily …

Exploring Diversity With Statistics: Step-By-Step Jasp Guides, Ruth Walker, Ashlyn Moraine, Hannah Osborn, Kristen J. Black, Asia Palmer, Kendra Scott, Leigh Humphrey, Julie Madden, Erin Prince

Open Textbooks

These resources were created to complement our undergraduate statistics lab manual, Applied Data Analysis in Psychology: Exploring Diversity with Statistics, published by Kendall Hunt publishing company. Like our lab manual, these JASP walk-through guides meaningfully and purposefully integrate and highlight diversity research to teach students how to analyze data in an open-source statistical program. The data sets utilized in these guides are from open-access databases (e.g., Pew Research Center, PLoS One, ICPSR, and more). Guides with step-by-step instructions, including annotated images and examples of how to report findings in APA format, are included for the following statistical tests: independent samples …

Anhedonia And Impulsivity In College Alcohol Use: A Path Analysis, Sydney N. Stamatovich

Dissertations and Theses

This study tested a path model to explore whether different types of anhedonia are associated with alcohol use and problems via different types of impulsivity in 640 college students (ages 18-25). This study parsed anhedonia into four specific facets: consummatory and anticipatory anhedonia, and “recreational” and social anhedonia. Consummatory anhedonia (i.e., the “liking” of a reward) was hypothesized to be associated with alcohol use and problems via sensation seeking, a component of impulsivity where individuals tend to seek out rewarding, yet sometimes risky stimuli. Further, anticipatory anhedonia (i.e., the process of “looking forward to” or “wanting” a reward) was hypothesized …

Influence Of Social Expectations On Muscle Dysmorphia In College-Age Males Studying Exercise Science, Quinten Garver

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

PURPOSE: To investigate the correlation between the risk of an individual developing MD and the presence of unrealistic social expectations. The research question is “How do unrealistic social expectations influence the development of muscle dysmorphia in college-age males studying exercise science?”. METHODS: An electronic survey was distributed to all exercise science students at The University of Akron. This survey was targeted exclusively at male students; any responses received by females were not analyzed. The survey consisted of 20 questions that were aimed at determining the individual’s risk of developing muscle dysmorphia and determining how likely the individual is to have …

The Expression Of Satanist Identity: Does Visible Identification Of Satanism Predict Discrimination And Depression?, Allyson Dudley

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The current research examines the relationship between visible expression of religion, identification within Satanism, experiences of discrimination, and depression in a sample of modern Satanists (n = 1,272). Historically, Satanism has been scrutinized as immoral and a threat to public safety. The current research attempts to challenge that viewpoint by employing culturally competent methods and understanding of modern Satanism. Findings indicate a negative relationship between expression of Satanism and discrimination, expression of Satanism and depressive symptoms, in-group ties and discrimination, and identification (in-group ties and in-group affect) and depressive symptoms. Results show a positive relationship between identification with Satanism and …

Writing Towards Radicalism: On Biased Reporting & Its Effects On U.S. Extremism, Martha Tyler

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

Perceived influxes in biased reporting, disparities in reporting versus reality, and other factors have led many Americans to question the legitimacy of their most-frequented sources. These sentiments have encouraged migration from traditional sources to alternative ones, exposing many Americans to polarizing media. This report argues that unaddressed inadequacies in reporting force Americans to contend with a distorted reality or try their luck on the path toward alternative media.

Investigating The Impact Of Unlimited Sucrose During Adolescence On Flex Maze Performance In Rats, Emma Klopatek, Emily Tobolski, Bailey Harvey, Danielle Frances, Taylor Garrels, Gillian Lado

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

As depression continues to impact many people, there are important considerations to be taken in how depression impacts people's learning and motivations. The objective of this study is to examine the effects of unlimited sucrose consumption during adolescence, which can mimic symptoms of depression, on spatial memory and motivation in rats. The flex maze is used in the present study to assess these behaviors. Before initial training on the flex maze, 6 male rats were separated into two groups: an experimental group with unlimited access to 5% sucrose (and water) for approximately 3 weeks and a control group with free …

Social Connectedness In Different Relationship Contexts, Kirsten M. Ask, Carolyn Lowe, Niya Mckinley, Mary C. Minter

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

While an overwhelming majority of teens still spend time with their friends in person at least occasionally, people have become increasingly reliant on technology for communication and maintaining feelings of social connectedness. Social connectedness is a sense of belonging to an individual or group characterized by satisfaction, perceived level of support, and opportunities for self-disclosure within a particular relationship context. There is consistent evidence that online communication does not foster the same degree of closeness as offline interactions, largely due to the lack of indirect forms of communication like non-verbal cues and tone of voice (Scott et al., 2022a). Offline …

Aerobic Vs. Anaerobic Exercise: The Role Of Exercise Attitudes, Frequency, And Perception Of Effort In Cognitive And Psychological Benefits, Khalil Dabdoub, Michael Oliver

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Exercise has been shown to have numerous benefits. Benefits often depend on the type and duration of exercise. Existing research focuses primarily on long-term aerobic exercise with studies showing 20-30 minutes of exercise to be beneficial. What remains unknown is how little exercise can show benefits. Anaerobic exercise has not been studied much, and when it has, findings have been mixed. Research is needed to elucidate the potential cognitive and psychological benefits of anaerobic exercise of different durations. In addition to exercise type, factors such as one’s attitude towards exercising, exercise frequency, and perception of effort may play a role …