Psychology Commons^™

Exploring College-Aged Student Anxiety: Aggravating Factors And Coping Strategies, Julie E. Volkman Phd, Bianca M. Wolf, Chris Morse, Ella Browning, Andrew High, Heather P. Lacey, Joseph J. Trunzo, Wendy Samter

Communications and Language Studies Faculty Journal Articles

Undergraduate college-aged students are increasingly experiencing anxiety. Yet, many struggle to cope effectively, resulting in poor school performance and compromised health and well-being. Our goal was to identify common anxiety-inducing and aggravating stressors, as well as preferred adaptive coping strategies, in this exploratory study to inform anxiety intervention development. A total of 19 undergraduate students (17 female and 2 male) were recruited. Students previously diagnosed or treated for anxiety by a clinician participated in a two-week, daily diary entry study. A total of 219 diary entries were transcribed and thematically analyzed for student reports of awareness variables and associated coping …

Emerging Adult Perceptions Of Costs And Benefits Of Using Information And Communication Technology In Dating Relationships, Ishita Munshi, Evan J. Basting, Marissa Dongarra, Jessica Harangozo, Liz Goncy

Psychology Faculty Publications

Rapid technological advancements have revolutionized the dating experiences of emerging adults. This study explored perceptions of information and communication technology within emerging adult romantic relationships and examined what young adults perceived to be the costs and benefits of using technology to communicate in dating relationships. Emerging adults (N = 118) from diverse backgrounds completed a semi‐structured interview and thematic analysis was conducted on the interview responses. Several themes were identified that highlighted the positive influence of technology on relationship communication (e.g., greater efficiency), relationship development, and relationship maintenance. Despite several benefits, broad negative impacts of technology were also identified, including …

Improving Educator Readiness To Support Student Mental Health, Anna Dabrowski, Michelle Hsien, Tamara Van Der Zant, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, Amy Berry, Maya Conway, Yung Nietschke

Wellbeing

This project used a mixed-method approach to understand educator readiness to support student mental health across early childhood, school based, and tertiary settings. The study features educators and relevant support staff working with children, adolescents, and adults in formal learning settings. Relevant experts such as mental health care workers, youth wellbeing support staff, counsellors, psychologists, and other professionals involved in education settings were also invited to take part in the study. Three research questions guided the focus of the study: How does educator anxiety and worry impact on their ability to support student mental health? To what extent are educators …

Burnout: Half A Century Of Controversy, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

Burnout has become a focal point of concern in the contemporary workplace. The syndrome has elicited undiminished interest among occupational health specialists. The World Health Organization defines burnout as a syndrome "resulting from chronic workplace stress." Burnout is said to comprise three components: (i) feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; (ii) increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism toward one’s job; and (iii) a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment. This definition mirrors the conceptualization of burnout embodied in the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), the ‘gold standard’ for the assessment of burnout. However, controversies …

Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes: Using Gamification Of Cognitive Overload To Teach Leadership And Psychology Concepts, Brett Whitaker, Whitney Whitaker

Leadership Faculty Publications

Purpose

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is a puzzle-based video game that allows Leadership educators to facilitate a highly interactive and behaviorally intense experience within a traditional classroom environment. In this manuscript, we discuss appropriate use cases, curricular alignments and provide a sample lesson plan outlining one way of using the game.

Design/methodology/approach

The cooperative and team-based nature of this game provides opportunities to create interactive lessons on a variety of topics, such as communication, group dynamics, leadership, conflict strategies and cognitive load.

Findings

Our primary reflection is that this game provides a good balance between fun engagement and rigorous …

Experiences With Coming Out: A Study Of Lgbtq+ Music Students’ Perceptions Of Music Education Pedagogy, Sid Adams

Educational Studies Dissertations

Because LGBTQ+ people are disclosing their non-heterosexual and/or non-cisgender identities at younger ages, music educators should consider how their pedagogical decisions impact an LGBTQ+ person’s decision to disclose their identity (come out). Previous research has explored how to create affirming and inclusive space for LGBTQ+ students to learn within music education spaces. However, past research has been limited on how those decisions impact the LGBTQ+ student’s decision to disclose their identity. I used data from five participants to discover how they perceived music education pedagogical practices and how those practices facilitated or hindered their decision to disclose their LGBTQ+ identity. …

Three-Dimensionalization Mediates The Subjective Experience Of Fractal Interior Spaces, Joori Suh, William Stalker, Steen Pedersen, Assaf Harel

Psychology Faculty Publications

A fractal, a self-similar organic or geometric pattern that repeats at varying scales, is one of the most compelling characteristics found in nature. Previous studies on fractal patterns have demonstrated consistent trends in potential psychological benefits, such as stress reduction. However, we fall short of understanding one of the essential properties of fractals found in nature, i.e., the three-dimensionality of their appearance. In this study, we aimed at understanding the role of the three-dimensionalization of fractal patterns in spatial structures on human subjective perceptual experience. Two hundred seventy three-dimensional spatial prototype models were created for this study, spanning two dimensions: …

Does Voice Endorsement By Supervisors Enhance Or Constrain Voicer's Personal Initiative? Countervailing Effects Via Feeling Pride And Feeling Envied, Mingyun Huai, Xueqi Wen, Zihan Liu, Xingyu Wang, Wen-Dong Li, Mo Wang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

While the previous research has examined antecedents of supervisors’ voice endorsement, it has generally overlooked its effects on voicers’ affective and behavioral reactions, probably because of the underlying assumption that supervisors’ voice endorsement is inherently beneficial and likely to encourage more proactive behaviors in the future. In this research, we offer a theoretical model of the double-edged effects of supervisors’ voice endorsement on voicers’ subsequent personal initiative. Drawing on cognitive appraisal theory and related research, we proposed that supervisors’ voice endorsement prompts two different cognitive appraisal processes in voicers that evoke two distinct emotional experiences—feeling pride and feeling envied—with countervailing …

A Multifactorial Study Of Factors Influencing Self-Health Behaviors In Dementia, Elizabeth Malkin

Dissertations

The global increase in dementia cases presents a significant public health challenge, particularly given the absence of a cure and the rising healthcare burden on individuals and society. This study aims to examine the influence of knowledge, beliefs, and motivation on self-health behaviors to mitigate the risk of dementia among individuals residing in the United States. With the use of an online survey, the study utilized the U.S. normed MCLHB-DRR scale and supplemental questions about knowledge of risk factors and degree of closeness to family members with dementia to determine whether (1) more closely related relatives (first-degree relatives) and those …

Infertility’S Impact On Couples’ Functioning, Elizabeth Sanders

Dissertations

Historically, infertility has been a taboo topic of discussion and is often avoided in conversation because of the stigmatization of the diagnosis. According to the World Health Organization (2022), infertility affects 186 million individuals globally. However, there seems to be a gap in the research as it pertains to the psychological well-being and treatment of men and women diagnosed with this condition. While it has become less of a feared topic, it still is not discussed or researched enough, thus further exacerbating the gap in research on mental health and treatment options. The following dissertation completed a critical review of …

Integrating Computer Science Education And Ethnic-Racial Identity Exploration Within A Social Justice Youth Development Framework, Steven Worker, Fe Moncloa, Vernelle Mitchell-Hawkins

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

Understanding Why Youth Depart Early From Summer Camp, Victoria Povilaitis, Robert P. Lubeznik-Warner, Katie Mcgregor-Wheatley

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

Development Amidst Psychological Difficulties: Parents As Developmental Assets, Kimia Shirzad, Sunhye Bai, Jennifer P. Agans

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

Admixture Mapping Of Cognitive Function In Diverse Hispanic And Latino Adults: Results From The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study Of Latinos, Rui Xia, Xueqiu Jian, Amanda L Rodrigue, Jan Bressler, Eric Boerwinkle, Biqi Cui, Martha L Daviglus, Charles Decarli, Linda C Gallo, David C Glahn, Emma E M Knowles, Jee-Young Moon, Thomas H Mosley, Claudia L Satizabal, Tamar Sofer, Wassim Tarraf, Fernando Testai, John Blangero, Sudha Seshadri, Hector M González, Myriam Fornage

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: We conducted admixture mapping and fine-mapping analyses to identify ancestry-of-origin loci influencing cognitive abilities.

METHODS: We estimated the association of local ancestry intervals across the genome with five neurocognitive measures in 7140 diverse Hispanic and Latino adults (mean age 55 years). We prioritized genetic variants in associated loci and tested them for replication in four independent cohorts.

RESULTS: We identified nine local ancestry-associated regions for the five neurocognitive measures. There was strong biological support for the observed associations to cognitive function at all loci and there was statistical evidence of independent replication at 4q12, 9p22.1, and 13q12.13.

DISCUSSION: Our …

Brain Injury And Psychosocial Trauma: Outcomes Among Justice-Involved Individuals, Mahathi D. Kosuri

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Justice-involved individuals experience disproportionately high rates of both traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and psychosocial traumas. However, these traumas have yet to be conceptualized together, leaving a chasm of research on how they interact and influence this population. The current study was the first to measure the effects of TBIs as well as psychosocial trauma among justice-involved men, within the context of executive functioning, history of justice involvement, and recidivism. A sample of men (N=95) from a private correctional facility were given the Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Questionnaire (OSU-TBI-ID), the Lifetime Stressor Checklist- Revised (LSC-R), along with …

Resting-State Eeg Microstate Features For Major Depressive Disorder Classification, George M. V. Quinn

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Neuroimaging studies have revealed consistent abnormalities in functional connectivity within specific neural networks that may serve as biomarkers for major depressive disorder (MDD). It is important to find inexpensive, non-invasive techniques that target these biomarkers to make diagnosis easier and more objective. EEG microstates are quasi-stable potential topographies that are thought to reflect the quasi-stable network activity of the underlying neural generators. MDD has been shown to alter features of the four canonical EEG microstates (A, B, C, D) with some conflicting results. The most consistent network abnormalities in MDD are found in the anterior default mode network, and this …

Supporting Social Equity Through Informal Spaces On An Urban Campus, Eve B. Klein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation focuses on applying research to design in the setting of higher education. Specifically, it explores the informal spaces outside the classroom at a predominantly Black college in an urban setting. The existing structural challenges facing college students are many, including issues related to financial resources, mental health/wellness, family responsibilities, psychosocial identity formation, and structural racism. These challenges were compounded by the events of the spring of 2020, when a heightened awareness of anti-Black racism, combined with the hardships of COVID-19, brought college campuses to a close and masses of people to the streets to protest the unjust killings …

Original Vs. Simplified Miranda Rights: The Impact On Miranda Rights Comprehension And Subsequent Waiver Decisions, Sydney Baker

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Youths’ developmental immaturity negatively impacts their ability to meaningfully understand and appreciate their Miranda rights, raising questions about the validity of their waiver decisions. Moreover, most Miranda warnings are long, written at advanced reading levels, and contain complex sentence structure and vocabulary, which further hinders comprehension. In response, several jurisdictions have begun to use developmentally informed Miranda warnings for youth. However, research has yet to determine whether this improves youths’ ability to make informed Miranda waiver decisions. As such, the current research study explored whether simplified Miranda warnings increased youths’ comprehension of their rights, whether Miranda comprehension was related to …

Relationship Interventions For Autistic Children And Their Non-Autistic Siblings, Susan Vanessa Mchugh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Relationships between children with autism and their non-autistic siblings are often characterized by great warmth, empathy, and affection. However, because of core deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, autistic children and their siblings often experience difficulties with communication, play, and associated mental health problems. Interventions aimed at improving relationships in these sibling dyads historically have involved teaching non-autistic children to behave similarly to interventionists for autistic siblings, and support groups for children with broad chronic illnesses. More recent interventions have shifted focus to improvement of play between siblings, and support groups for siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder. Some are naturalistic …

Defining Resilience In Young People With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Theory Informed Approach, Barbara Storch

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a chronic gastrointestinal illness for which there is no existing cure. There is significant literature documenting the increased likelihood of adverse biopsychosocial outcomes in young people with IBD (e.g., Greenley et al., 2010); however, many individuals with IBD respond by either maintaining or increasing outcomes categorized as positive. These trajectories can be thought of as characterized by a resilient response. The study of resilience in young people with IBD is nascent. Given the unique disease-specific and developmental contexts young people with IBD experience, the first step in understanding the process of resilience in young people …

Investigating The Impact Of Affect In Suicide-Specific Attentional Biases, Beverlin Rosario-Williams

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Objective: Biased processing of suicide-related information has been implicated in risk of future suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Although previous studies have classified this biased processing, the tasks used to examine these biases cannot definitely specify which attentional processes are related to risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Therefore, via two independent studies, this dissertation sought to distinguish suicide-specific attentional engagement and disengagement biases from other forms of cognitive processing, such as accessibility of suicide-related stimuli and threat bias toward and away from socially threatening stimuli. Additionally, this dissertation investigated under which affective conditions suicide-specific engagement and disengagement biases emerged. …

The Effects Of Mood And Anxiety Sensitivity On Attentional Engagement And Disengagement In Sleep Disturbance, Kara L. Buda

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Insomnia is a highly prevalent, chronic disorder that is associated with adverse psychological, physical, and psychosocial outcomes. Harvey’s (2002) cognitive model of insomnia and Espie’s (2006) attention-intention-effort pathway model highlight two critical processes believed to play a role in the onset and persistence of insomnia: (a) emotional distress and physiological arousal and (b) selective attention and monitoring. However, investigations examining attentional bias in sleep disturbance have produced mixed results and have exclusively used paradigms that are limited in their ability to differentially examine the two unique components of attentional bias (i.e., facilitated engagement, impaired disengagement). Discrepant findings in the attentional …

Computerized Cognitive Training In The Treatment Of Depression: Individual Differences And Perceptions Of Cct, Sophie Schiff

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Major Depressive Disorder is a serious mental health disorder that affects 8% of adults in the United States. Adults aged 18-29 are at an elevated risk with a prevalence of 12%. Depression is most often characterized by mood symptoms, however, individuals with depression often also present with cognitive weaknesses on objective neuropsychological measures across several domains. These deficits are not only associated with mood symptoms, but significantly interfere with treatment and have been found to persist even with successful treatment of affective symptoms. Research into interventions directly targeting cognition has increased in recent years. While traditional first-line treatments for depression, …

Helpful Intentions? Impact Of Intentionality On Children's Memory For Forensically-Relevant Information, Ella P. Merriwether

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Rationale: When a child is a witness or victim of a crime, they are often asked a barrage of questions regarding when the crime took place, how many times it occurred, and how the abuse unfolded (Cross & Whitcomb, 2017; Sullivan et al., 2022). These questions can be problematic because they rely on concepts for which children may lack memory or linguistic ability to answer (Fenson et al., 2000; Friedman, 1993). One fundamental element missing from the copious research (e.g., Brubacher et al., 2012; Stolzenberg et al., 2017a; Wylie et al., 2021) on children’s ability to recount forensically-relevant information is …

Association Of Autistic Traits And Psychiatric Symptoms In Children With A Fragile X Premutation Allele: The Neurodevelopmental Profile, Ariel Zucker

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Throughout the lifespan, approximately 14% of males and 5% of females with a fragile X premutation (PM) (defined as 55-200 CGG repeats on the X-linked FMR1 gene) are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). For individuals that do not meet diagnostic criteria for ASD, autistic traits (ATs) are often present in this population and have been shown to have a subtle and sub-clinical presentation of social communication and interaction deficits. While less is known about the phenotype of children with a PM, studies have found increased rates of ASD and ATs in adults with a PM allele compared to controls. …

Late-Life Depression: The Interplay Between Cerebrovascular Risk, Cortical And Subcortical Atrophy, And Treatment Response, Dakota Egglefield

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Late-life depression (LLD) is associated with poor response to antidepressant medication treatment, cognitive impairment, cerebrovascular disease, and brain changes both in white and gray matter. Of particular interest is the vascular subtype of LLD, vascular depression (VD). Although LLD and VD have received considerable research attention, there are still areas that must be further clarified to adequately characterize aspects of LLD and VD that provide valuable information for possible interventions. Such areas include a stronger understanding of the moderating role of brain atrophy and changes in cognition in treatment response in LLD. This dissertation consists of three separate studies aimed …

Perceptual Expectation, Rebecca Keller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

You are currently seeing many things, and, hopefully, you are currently about to see many other things. Many of the things that you are about to see will not be surprising, because you expect to see them. Sometimes, though, when you expect to see one thing and are faced with another, that thing will look like the thing you expected it to be, and not like the thing it actually is. This dissertation is an attempt to get a handle on what is happening in the visual system in these instances. In particular, I am trying to figure out what …

Measuring Intersectional Strength And Stigma Among Racially Minoritized Gender Diverse Young Adults, Joseph Carter

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Racially minoritized transgender and gender expansive young adults (RMTGEYA; aged 18-26) experience mental health inequities due to intersectional, multilevel stigma. RMTGEYA communities embody intersectional strength and resilience that can mitigate the impact of stigma. Understanding and capturing strength and stigma factors to address these inequities has significant implications for clinical science research and practice. There is, however, a complete absence of instruments that are validated to do so. Objective: The goal of this study is to conduct a three-phase, mixed methods study that centers intersectional and community engaged methods of psychometric development for a measure that captures daily experiences …

Enhancing The Accuracy Of The Mild Cognitive Impairment Diagnosis In Community-Based, Racially/Ethnically Diverse Older Adults, Katherine H. Chang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is thought to represent an intermediate stage of cognitive impairment that is often, but not always, a transitional phase between normal aging and dementia. Diagnostic criteria for “MCI” and international consensus criteria have been developed and refined over decades beginning in the 1990s, but the definition is still debated. Moreover, the operationalization and measurement of one of the criteria for MCI (i.e., subjective cognitive concerns, SCC), which is included in most classification approaches, is highly variable and there is great inconsistency across the literature. Some research efforts even support the removal of this criterion on the …

The Impact Of Early Teacher Bias And Academic Risk On Children’S Current And Future Academic Achievement, Damira S. Rasheed

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The racial academic achievement gap continues to plague child academic outcomes in American public schools and teacher bias may be a contributing factor. Through the theoretical lens of critical race theory and the cultural synchrony hypothesis, this study contemplated how longstanding racism in the US may function to hinder the academic achievement outcomes of minority-race children. Moreover, cultural mismatches in the classroom between teachers and students may be associated with lower quality teacher-child relationships and perceived academic risk. A growing body of work has examined the association between teacher bias and child academic-risk factors—with risk defined by children’s sociodemographic characteristics …